Quebec plans to end the requirement of needing a medical note before being reimbursed by an insurance company.
On Wednesday, Labour Minister Jean Boulet announced that he will table a bill to ‘cut red tape,’ so that family doctors can add 500,000 additional medical appointments for patients annually.
In a press scrum with Health Minister Christian Dubé, Boulet said that family doctors spend a quarter of their time filling out forms for insurance companies.
“Doctors in Quebec are faced with a significant administrative burden,” he said. “Twenty-five per cent of their time is spent on paperwork. (…) It prevents them from having medical consultations.”
Once the bill is adopted, patients will no longer have to request a medical prescription from a general practitioner to be reimbursed for equipment, such as a cane or a support boot, or the services of a physiotherapist or massage therapist, for example.
According to Boulet, a request for accommodation in a Centres d’hébergement et de soins de longue durée (CHSLD) should not require a visit to the doctor either.
“Someone who is experiencing professional burnout, we don’t need (…) for the insurer to require a visit all the time. Someone with a fracture, (…) they should not be asked to see the doctor every three weeks,” explained Boulet.
However, the government says they cannot guarantee that premiums will not increase with the probable increase in the number of services reimbursed.
“We cannot give guarantees. Is it possible that there will be an impact? I am not in a position to evaluate it,” he said.
Measure well received
The opposition parties were questioned about the bill on Wednesday.
“It’s an excellent initiative, sincerely,” responded Québec solidaire (QS) MNA Christine Labrie at a press briefing. “It is a major irritant for patients to have to get these notes each time, especially for people who do not have a family doctor. So, we really welcome this initiative,” she added.
“I think that for doctors to make their job easier is a good thing. It will help with productivity,” said Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) MNA Frédéric Beauchemin.
However, Parti Québécois (PQ) MNA Pascal Bérubé welcomed the government’s “intentions,” but said he was waiting for the “results.”
“We will observe closely,” he said. “We will be there for the results, if it works.”
On social media, the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) also doubted that the measure could generate half a million medical appointments annually.
“This figure seems exaggerated to us at first glance, and we are waiting for the minister to explain his methodology,” said the union.
Furthermore, the FMOQ invites the government to take “one more step” by prohibiting insurance companies from requiring medical notes for absences of less than five days.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews