Latest news with #Marissal
CBC
01-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Quebec wants to make it harder for doctors to go from public to private system
The Coalition Avenir Québec government is proposing restrictions for physicians who want to go from the public to the private health system, but an opposition MNA says the proposal lacks substance. Late last year, the CAQ tabled a bill to force physicians to practise in the public system for at least five years after graduating. Now, it's proposing amendments that would apply to all physicians — not just new ones. With the current rules, Health Minister Christian Dubé says it's too easy for physicians to go "back and forth" between the public and private system. A physician just needs to give the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), the province's health insurance board, a 30-day notice to go from the public to private sector. On Tuesday, Dubé proposed amendments to Bill 83, the proposed legislation it tabled in December that focused on new doctors. Those amendments would require doctors to get formal approval from Santé Québec, the newest provincial Crown corporation that now oversees the public health system, before switching from the public to private sector. Santé Québec will either approve or reject a doctor's request based on the following criteria: The number of available doctors in a region's public health facilities. The doctor's departure from the public system cannot lead to negative consequences for patients in that region. The inability of the public network to use this doctor in the establishments in that region. WATCH | A breakdown of the private system's effect on the public system: Does private health care help or hurt the public system? In Quebec, it's complicated 8 days ago Duration 7:16 For decades, Quebec's public health system has been criticized for not meeting the population's needs. The province allowed the private sector to fill some of those gaps, but that hasn't lifted much of the burden off of the public system. The province's College of Physicians has said that it prefers an outright ban on doctors leaving the public system. The minister's amendments fall well short of that. "We want to make sure that we give flexibility, because I always said that the private sector is complementary to the public," Dubé said when asked whether the proposed rules are tough enough. Vincent Marissal, an MNA with Québec Solidaire, was quick to point out Tuesday that the province's Heath Insurance Act already gives the minister power to limit doctors' movements between the public and private system if they think it's in the best interest of a patient in a given region. As far as Marissal is concerned, Dubé is using the amendments to transfer that responsibility to Santé Québec. "It's a lack of courage on his part," the MNA said. He added that the minister should simply forbid doctors from breaking away from the public system. "We can't be speaking from both sides of our mouths," Marissal said. "We can't be saying that we want to bring people back to the public system while continuing to develop the private system." Fines for new doctors In its news release announcing these changes, Dubé's office points to data that shows that 820 doctors are practising in the private sector. Although there are about 22,000 physicians in Quebec, Dubé's office said the number of doctors who chose to opt for the private system represents an 80-per-cent increase compared to 2020. It also says that there 150 other physicians, mostly specialists, who alternated regularly between the private and public sector in the last year. As for new doctors, Bill 83 calls for fines ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 per day, with repeat offences incurring fines of $40,000 to $200,000, for physicians who leave the public system in the first five years after graduating. The bill, and its amendments, were scheduled to be studied extensively by lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Revamp of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital 'not going fast enough,' Quebec health minister admits
Maintenance costs are growing at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal's east end while construction for the long-awaited modernization project appears to be delayed — again. "I'm pushing the project as fast as I can," Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé told reporters Thursday morning, adding he'd hoped construction would begin this summer. During an exchange at the National Assembly Wednesday with Québec Solidaire health critic Vincent Marissal, Dubé said he needs "a few more months" to continue analyzing the project before the shovels can hit the ground. He said he's hoping to come up with a timeline and precise start date for construction this year. "I seriously thought we would be able to see excavators on the hospital grounds this year," said Dubé. "I'll be the first to say it's not going fast enough." Marissal shot back at Dubé, saying the construction site is "still being planned, but nothing is happening." Quebec unveiled its budget on Tuesday, which showed the anticipated project to revamp the hospital remained in the "planning" phase in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI), despite construction slated to start this summer. According to Radio-Canada, there is still a possibility that some construction work will begin later this year. The Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, whose facilities date back to the 1950s, serves nearly a third of Montreal's population Montreal. Close to $140 million has been invested since 2014 to help maintain the aging hospital, according to documents obtained by Radio-Canada. Dubé officially launched the revamp project in 2023, telling Radio-Canada at the time that construction should begin in 2024. Last year, Christine Fréchette, the minister responsible for the metropolis and Montreal region, said construction would begin in summer 2025 instead. "There are so many announcements that were rushed, including mine and I'll say it: rushed because we didn't have the right numbers. We didn't have the right analysis," Dubé told Marissal Wednesday.
