In only six days, doctors in private clinics in Quebec will no longer be able to charge accessory fees to patients.
This means charges for vaccinations and other services that are covered through public health insurance will no longer be allowed effective Jan. 26.
READ MORE: Quebec to end health accessory fees; doctors and clinics to absorb costs
Doctors will now have to foot the bill to provide these services, meaning that pediatricians could very well stop providing vaccinations.
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In September, Quebec Health Minister Gaetan Barrette referred to the health accessory fees charged by some specialists and general practitioners as “over billing.”
Barrette says he hopes the change will improve accessibility.
“It will be impossible to have an added fee,” Barrette said in 2016. “Two examples: lately we’ve seen patients who had to pay $200 for eye drops in order to have an exam or a treatment. That will go away. It’s going to be zero.
“Patients had to pay $150 to open a file. That’s totally illegal as we speak.”
However, patients will now have to head to a CLSC or a hospital and may no longer enjoy the convenience of being vaccinated by doctors in private clinics.
The ban on accessory fees not only affects vaccinations, but also ultrasounds and colonoscopies, among many other services.
To help make up for the loss of service in the private sector, the Quebec government has invested $21 million in the public sector.
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