The Quebec government will be suspending two measures of Bill 2, with the hope of persuading doctors’ federations angered by the special legislation to return to the bargaining table.
Though changes to doctors’ remuneration method are a done deal, Premier François Legault told reporters Tuesday afternoon he wants to “extend a hand” to the two federations to discuss the details.
The move to pause parts of the law, announced by Health Minister Christian Dubé and Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau, comes as the federations representing Quebec’s general practitioners, medical specialists, and medical students each launch legal challenges to Bill 2, filing a stay of execution.
The Fédération médicale étudiante du Québec (FMEQ) first appeared in court on Tuesday.
“We’re very preoccupied by the reaction from the doctors over the past few days,” Duranceau said. “We all agree, I think, on the objective. We need to change the remuneration mode for the doctors.”
Until further notice, Quebec will maintain the premium specialized doctors receive when a family doctor refers a patient to them, Dubé said. The new law would have abolished the premium and repurposed the funds associated with it.
A second measure is related to the 30 per cent doctors who make up a family medicine group (FMG) receive for office expenses. The law would have seen the funds directly transferred to a FMG. However, for the time being, they will continue to be paid to doctors.
The CAQ invoked closure to pass Bill 2, which imposes fines of up to $500,000 per day on groups of physicians who take “concerted action” to challenge the government’s policies.
Over the fall, federations representing family doctors and medical specialists had used pressure tactics to oppose the proposed remuneration system, such as refusing to teach medical students.
Under the new law, a portion of doctors’ compensation will be linked to performance targets relating, for example, to the number of patients, particularly vulnerable ones, they care for.
No talks until entire law paused, says FMOQ
The Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) published a statement on social media Tuesday, saying it’s unwilling to resume talks with the Coalition Avenir Québec government unless Bill 2 is suspended in its entirety.
“The government does not understand the true depth of anger felt by family doctors right now, on the eve of its ‘explanatory’ webinar with them and from which the FMOQ was excluded,” the federation wrote, referring to a couple info-sessions Dubé created to address questions from doctors.
Among other things, the FMOQ takes issue with Bill 2’s creation of quantifiable performance indicators that would push doctors to practice what the FMOQ describes as “fast-food” medicine.
The federation also says the government’s colour-coded system to assess patients’ vulnerability and its inability to guarantee access to human resources are also keeping the FMOQ from returning to the bargaining table.
