Ontario moves toward wage freeze for doctors through “rebalancing” OHIP fees

Ontario is moving toward a real wage freeze for doctors, expected to result in savings of $338.3 million in 2012-2013.

“The government is updating and rebalancing OHIP fees to better reflect current medical practices and new technologies and to avoid double-payments,” Ontario’s Ministry of Health announced in a press release on May 7. “Best practices demonstrate that doctors are now often able to work more quickly and more effectively, yet many fees have not changed to reflect these advances.”

The fee changes include curbing “self-referrals,” which describes the practice of referring a patient back to a doctor’s own practice for an additional procedure and, consequently, additional billing. The province currently spends $88 million on self-referrals.

“The payment for certain diagnostic tests such as X-rays and ultrasounds will be reduced by half when the same physician orders and performs the test,” the ministry notes.

Also, new technology has greatly reduced the time needed for 250 diagnostic radiology tests, including X-rays, CT/MRI scans and ultrasound, the province reported. “To reflect this, fees paid for these tests will be reduced by 11% over four years.”