Last month, Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand gave up the idea of charging user fees every time a patient sees a doctor and is instead searching for new revenues to finance Quebec’s health care system. Bachand had described the $25 user fee as a deductible for the doctor visit and it would be assessed when the individual pays their income tax the following year.
The user fees were expected to raise an additional $500 million per year in extra revenues.
Doctors and nurses associations said the charge would discourage people from seeing a doctor. Other party leaders opposed the idea as well saying that both the rich and poor would be paying the same amount for each visit.
Although user fees may have been abolished for now, don’t forget about the new “Health Contribution”. Quebecers are now paying a $25 “Health Contribution” this year, rising to $100 next year and then $200 in 2012.
The real solution to Quebec’s health care woes is to make people responsible for a portion of the health care services they use, and the principle behind a user fee does just that. The fee would help individuals to make reasonable choices when using medical services and provide more incentive to choose healthier lifestyles.
Raising taxes with a new “Health Contribution”, provides no incentive and does not solve the underlying problem with the health care system.
Last month, Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand gave up the idea of charging user fees every time a patient sees a doctor and is instead searching for new revenues to finance Quebec’s health care system. Bachand had described the $25 user fee as a deductible for the doctor visit and it would be assessed when the individual pays their income tax the following year.
The user fees were expected to raise an additional $500 million per year in extra revenues.
Doctors and nurses associations said the charge would discourage people from seeing a doctor. Other party leaders opposed the idea as well saying that both the rich and poor would be paying the same amount for each visit.
Although user fees may have been abolished for now, don’t forget about the new “Health Contribution”. Quebecers are now paying a $25 “Health Contribution” this year, rising to $100 next year and then $200 in 2012.
The real solution to Quebec’s health care woes is to make people responsible for a portion of the health care services they use, and the principle behind a user fee does just that. The fee would help individuals to make reasonable choices when using medical services and provide more incentive to choose healthier lifestyles.
Raising taxes with a new “Health Contribution”, provides no incentive and does not solve the underlying problem with the healthcare system.
