Ontario GP net income to fall by 50%?

[Prince Medward]

Here is a comment to a Globe and Mail article on the impact of Ontario doctor fee cuts on Family Doctors. It's hard to find info on the imact of the cuts on GPs and this is one of the few bits of info I have seen.

 

Can anyone share their insights on the impact of the cuts on GPs?

 

I see some posters commenting that just the specialists are getting severe cuts....actually I have seen the entire agenda being imposed by the MOH for the next 4 years and starting next year, Family physicians are getting SEVERE cuts....we are losing all our chronic care bonuses to care for diabetics and elderly, our fees for general visits are being slashed, and our gross income getting clawed back. All our Medical Education updates are now not being reinmbursed, and our liability insurance is not going to be subsidized any more, so for most of us it will triple or quadruple. Worst of all, within 2 years, the goal is to eliminate fee for service, and have all family doctors working as "employees" (still without benefits, of course! ) of the LHINs, being answerable for all their visits and work hours to administrators. We will be docked for our patients not only going to walk-in clinics, as we are now, but even to the Emergency room! We are to absorb costs for all the new doctors getting liscensed in Ontario (presuming there will be any!) Talking with some very experienced docs who have been through many cycles of ebb and flow with government funding, the thinking is that this will result in approximately a 50% cut in net wages to most docs in the province by year 4. (Remember our rents and supplies continue to climb, and our employees continue to expect raises and performance bonuses!). It is, for the first time, going to be financially unfeasible for the average doc to earn a decent living here. I do not think it is crazy to say that Ontario may lose 50% of its MDs to retirement, moving to the US where Obamacare is searching for 90,000 new MDs to provide 5 yr contracts, or other sunnier provinces. If this worries you, please write to your MPP and ask him or her who will provide you primary care when your doctor closes her practice? Or, just don't get sick.

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mcguinty-seeks-provincial-allies-in-fight-to-reduce-doctors-fees/article2431541/

[ghost dog]

"The OMA has said the changes will mean each doctor’s pay will drop by 16 per cent over the next four years, because of an increased number of physicians."

 

Where did you get the rest ?

 

Take it down a thousand zoom.

 

If you are a good businessman, you can still make good coin with third party services in Ontario.

 

And no, I'm not going to spell it out for you. Figure it out yourself. Your diatribe is annoying.

[Prince Medward]

Calm down. As I mention in my post (It's a good idea to actually read what you are responding to), the quoted text is from a comment to a globe and mail article. The link was provided.

 

It is not my diatribe but that of someone who posted on the G&M website.

 

If you stoped to think for a minute you will see that if the insurance subsidy is reduced, and if chronic care fees and bonuses are now gone, net income will be reduced by tens for thousands of dollars.

 

How about some comment on the actual income items that GPs will no longer receive rather than some tripe about being a "good businessman".

 

I'm a good enough businessman to know that a busines with declining income is a bad business to get into. Do I need to spell that out for you?

[ghost dog]

I really doubt you are a staff physician - typically, they don't get their information from a newspaper.

[justletmein]

I really doubt you are a staff physician - typically, they don't get their information from a newspaper.

 

the OP was trying to generate discussion, which is the purpose of these forums.

Why dont you get the stick out of your you know what and stop being so condescending...

[aaronjw]

I really doubt you are a staff physician - typically, they don't get their information from a newspaper.

 

Plainly and clearly, you're an idiot.

 

Learn to r e a d. MCAT VR standards must have been pretty low when you were accepted into medical school. Good thing you're not applying these days...

[leviathan]

I really doubt you are a staff physician - typically, they don't get their information from a newspaper.

Can you outline the portion of post(s) where the OP said he was a staff physician, or implied that he was a staff physician? I'm not sure if your reading comprehension is poor, or if you just interpret things in a bizarre way.

[thebouque]

He's a prince, not a physician!

[ghost dog]

Plainly and clearly, you're an idiot.

 

Learn to r e a d. MCAT VR standards must have been pretty low when you were accepted into medical school. Good thing you're not applying these days...

 

 

I'm a medical director of an interventional chronic pain clinic in the GTA.

I hold a faculty position at the nearby University.

I teach medical students and residents on a regular basis.

In my capacity as a lecturer and teacher, I have been able to advocate for both international med students

and international medical graduates ( IMGs) to gain entrance into the Canadian medical system ( that's right Leviathan). This is

an extremely difficult endeavour for these 2 respective groups to accomplish, as the competition is very intense.

 

Idiot ? I think not.

 

Misinformed , moronic comments ( such as the opening post above) serve no purpose.

 

The intelligent physician:

 

1. Mobilizes his patients by political means.

2. Performs third party services that will not be cut by way of government funding.

 

Such physicians will be fine, financially speaking. Of futher note is the fact that family doctors are not the only ones potentially being affected by budgetary cuts in Ontario. In particular :

 

1. Cardiologists.

2. Ophthalmologists.

3. Cardiac surgeons.

 

will also feel these cuts ( should they come to pass ) quite significantly, and in fact more so than the general practitioner.

 

The patient populations served by the above physicians ? Longer wait times, and untoward adverse outcomes will likely result.

 

As a general statement to medical students out there: don't expect money to be just handed to you. This will not occur. I note that there are a significant number of threads on just this topic.

Regardless of specialty chosen - you will work for your money.

[McMasterHopeful]

I'm a medical director of an interventional chronic pain clinic in the GTA.

I hold a faculty position at the nearby University.

I teach medical students and residents on a regular basis.

In my capacity as a lecturer and teacher, I have been able to advocate for both international med students

and international medical graduates ( IMGs) to gain entrance into the Canadian medical system ( that's right Leviathan). This is

an extremely difficult endeavour for these 2 respective groups to accomplish, as the competition is very intense.

 

Idiot ? I think not.

 

Misinformed , moronic comments ( such as the opening post above) serve no purpose.

 

The intelligent physician:

 

1. Mobilizes his patients by political means.

2. Performs third party services that will not be cut by way of government funding.

 

Such physicians will be fine, financially speaking. Of futher note is the fact that family doctors are not the only ones potentially being affected by budgetary cuts in Ontario. In particular :

 

1. Cardiologists.

2. Ophthalmologists.

3. Cardiac surgeons.

 

will also feel these cuts ( should they come to pass ) quite significantly, and in fact more so than the general practitioner.

 

The patient populations served by the above physicians ? Longer wait times, and untoward adverse outcomes will likely result.

 

As a general statement to medical students out there: don't expect money to be just handed to you. This will not occur. I note that there are a significant number of threads on just this topic.

Regardless of specialty chosen - you will work for your money.

 

touché. Nope not involved, just thoroughly entertained by this ridiculous thread.