Province, GPs reach common ground
Philippe Couillard’s government and the province’s general practitioners have an agreement in principle to renew their contract.
The announcement was made Friday morning by the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ). The FMOQ said it believes the agreement in principle is “fair and acceptable.”
Details have not been disclosed, but one of the key points of disagreement has been the pay gap between GPs and medical specialists. The contract must be approved by the FMOQ’s 9,500 members. The FMOQ will first consult with its members before submitting the agreement in principle to a vote that will take place Sept. 20-27.
The previous contract expired in April 2015. Negotiations with the Treasury Council have been ongoing since spring. The current average annual salary for GPs is close to $250,000 while specialists earn more than $400,000.
Earlier this week during a medical congress, Health Minister Gaétan Barrette implied that the government was going to tackle this issue. However, he also indicated that disparity will always exist because medical specialists require more training than GPs.
Barrette said GPs are only taking numbers into account, and have not considered other factors such as responsibilities, workloads, and schedules. In turn, the FMOQ said that the current salary for its members is not competitive and that the salary will discourage individuals from becoming GPs.
FMOQ spokesperson Jean-Pierre Dion said that the net pay gap could reach 60 to 70 per cent, taking into consideration GPs’ office overhead fees that medical specialists don’t have. Based on an agreement reached in 2014, the money will be gradually distributed until 2022 in order to bridge the salary between medical practitioners in Quebec and the rest of Canada.
From 2013 to 2016, compensation package for GPs went from $2.3 billion to $2.43 billion, according to data obtained from the health minister. In 2015-2016, the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) offered $7.3 billion in compensation for doctors, GPs and medical practitioners.