Ban on health fees doesn’t go far enough, critics say

One year after Quebec abolished accessory health fees, patients continue to pay for some tests and administrative services, says a community health organization.

“Always and again, there are services that are not covered, and we are fighting for an accessible and universal public plan,” community organizer Stéphane Defoy said Sunday.

The Pointe St-Charles Community Clinic had initially set up an online registry in 2015 amassing data on fees from than 700 patients before Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette banned doctors from charging for medical services that are covered by the Régie de l’assurance-maladie du Québec (RAMQ).

On Sunday, the fight-for-health committee of the clinic unveiled recent data gathered from 90 Montreal patients in 2017. Compared to preliminary data, the organization noted an increase in administrative costs and expenses billed for eye care, especially for exams not covered RAMQ. According to the survey, in half the cases, these exams cost patients more than $100.

“It is often the elderly who are in ophthalmological examinations. Patients are extremely vulnerable to any proposal for a physician’s examination,” said Élise MercierGouin of the clinic’s community health committee.

But since the ban started, fees in medical clinics for drugs and anesthetic agents have nearly disappeared, the organization said.

The group urges better control of administrative costs, forcing clinics to stop charging patients for completing government forms and RAMQ covering more eye exams.

The ban on extra fees applied to most services and materials used in procedures performed outside hospital, including colonoscopies, mammograms, childhood vaccinations and drops used in eye examinations.