VANCOUVER — Family doctors in British Columbia have been offered a significant raise under the province’s new compensation model as part of a plan to address the crisis in the health-care system.
The provincial government said Monday a full-time family doctor would be paid about $385,000 a year, up from the current $250,000, under a tentative three-year Physician Master Agreement reached with Doctors of BC last week.
Currently, family doctors are paid through a fee-for-service model and the government said the new plan will also pay them for hours worked, administrative costs, and the number and complexity of patients.
Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, president of Doctors of BC, said the deal represents a “seismic shift” in the way family medicine is practiced in the province.
“It is a model unique in Canada bringing together the best of a range of payment models. It addresses rising business costs, it recognizes the value physicians provide when delivering longitudinal care and it will compensate us for the time spent on evening and weekend administrative burdens,” she said.
“We’re listening to the concerns of many of our family doctors who have left practice or have been contemplating leaving.”
The master agreement, which must be ratified by physicians, was developed between the Doctors of BC, the province and BC Family Doctors and will start in February next year.
The plan will cost the B.C. government $708 million over three years, representing overall increases to the total base budget between three and 5.5 per cent each year.
The cost is on top of a one-time $118-million program to hand out an average of $25,000 per family doctor to keep them in practice until the plan’s launch.
One in five B.C. residents, or about one million people, don’t have a family doctor and the compensation model aims to recruit and retain more physicians.
The agreement would be accompanied with a new “roster” system, to be introduced by mid-2023, where those looking for a family doctor can register to be linked with practices in their community instead of searching one out themselves, an official said Monday.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said the payment model will help protect and strengthen B.C.’s health-care system. However, he said the government doesn’t have a specific estimate for its impact in terms of the number of people who will get a family doctor, or the number of doctors recruited as a result.
“It’s going to have a very, very positive effect. We can’t be exact,” he said, adding that it’s not a one-step solution but is part of a broader overhaul of health services.
The roster system will give the government better information about who has care and who needs it, he said.
Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said in a statement that while the announcement seems to address major concerns expressed by family doctors, it’s important that the plan also measures outcomes.
In addition to pay increases, the government said in a statement the funds will cover income disparities and new hourly premiums for after-hours services.
One of the complaints from family doctors has been high overhead costs of operating a practice, averaging between $80,000 and $85,000 a year, that come out of their pocket, an official said.
The new model aims to close the pay gap between family doctors and hospitalists, who are paid close to $300,000 a year to work in hospitals and have the same training but not the overhead costs.
Full-service family doctors are those who work in communities to provide ongoing primary-care services to their patients.
Premier John Horgan said in a statement the new model will help deal with the staffing shortfall.
“Rising costs, pandemic-related pressures and staffing shortages required action for doctors on several fronts.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2022.
EDMONTON – Alberta is unveiling new regulations that will once again allow corporate and union donations in local elections.
The move by the United Conservative Party government reverses a ban brought in under the NDP.
The rules come under a bill that makes sweeping changes to municipal elections, which the province says will make them more transparent.
It passed debate in the legislature earlier this year and comes into effect later this month.
Alberta Municipalities has been a vocal critic of the changes, with president Tyler Gandam saying that opening the door to big donors puts local government’s “up for sale to the highest bidder.”
The legislation also allows local political parties and slates on the ballot beginning in 2025 — but only in the province’s two largest cities, Edmonton and Calgary.
Individuals, corporations or unions are capped at contributing $5,000 total to all local parties per jurisdiction per year.
VANCOUVER – Environment Canada has issued several rainfall warnings for British Columbia, covering much of Vancouver Island and the coastal regions as the first atmospheric river of the season approaches.
It says heavy rain is expected to reach inland sections of the central coast that will intensify throughout the day before peaking this afternoon, bringing up to 70 millimetres.
The weather office says west and inland Vancouver Island will see rainfall amounts of about 100 millimetres, possibly more than 200 millimetres in mountainous terrain.
It says Metro Vancouver will also see up to 70 millimetres, and the Sea-to-Sky corridor may get up to 100 millimetres.
The atmospheric river will also roll over B.C.’s southern Interior with prolonged periods of heavy rain expected to persist through the weekend.
The expected rain has prompted flood watches by the River Forecast Centre for several rivers along the central and south coasts, Lower Fraser tributaries, waterways in Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island.
Wind warnings have also been issued for exposed sections of Haida Gwaii, North and Central Coasts, and North Vancouver Island.
Environment Canada is also maintaining snow warnings along the B.C.-Yukon boundary that may bring up to 25 centimetres in some areas.
It says rapidly accumulating snow may make it difficult to drive, so it is asking travellers to be cautious while on the roads.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain nearly 100 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 87.36 points at 24,777.84.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 85.55 points at 43,153.50. The S&P 500 index was up 17.22 points at 5,858.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 118.13 points at 18,491.74.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.42 cents US compared with 72.52 cents US on Thursday.
The December crude oil contract was down US$1.75 at US$68.34 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.27 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$26.60 at US$2,734.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up five cents at US$4.37 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
