David Raymond Amos@DavidRayAmos Replying to @DavidRayAmos@alllibertynewsand 49 others How can my doctor bill the system when the mindless lawyer Teddy Baby Flemming who is the latest Minister of Health ONCE AGAIN and his many evil minions won't give me the Health Care Card I am entitled to?
The provincial government has announced it is eliminating the physician billing number system. "The physician billing number system no longer works for the province," Health Minister Ted Flemming said in a media release Saturday.
"It is flawed because it restricts the number of physicians practising, restricts the mobility of physicians and impedes recruitment."
Flemming made the announcement during the New Brunswick Medical Society's annual general meeting in Moncton.
During the throne speech in November, Premier Blaine Higgs said one of his major commitments while in government was to eliminate the physician billing number system.
The billing number system was introduced in 1992 and controls where and how many physicians can practise in the province.
Doctors are assigned a billing number as a way to maintain an even distribution of doctors throughout the province, specifically in rural areas.
"After 30 years, we've come to understand that it's a failed experiment," said Dr. Serge Melanson, the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, in an interview.
"By removing it, we're essentially streamlining the process such so we can recruit physicians to the province faster and actually give more flexibility and options to physicians who are looking to set up practice in the province."
Melanson said he hopes this change will provide New Brunswickers with more access to doctors.
Dr. Serge Melanson, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, said he hopes the elimination of the billing number system will improve access to health care. (CBC News)
"We're hoping this will increase recruitment which will, in turn, improve access to health care to our patients," he said.
The system is expected to be phased out by mid-December.
The New Brunswick Medical Society is working with the regional health authorities and the Department of Health to develop an alternative to the billing number system that works on rural recruitment and access to primary care.
"We're empowering the regional health authorities, Vitalité and Horizon, which already have mandates and abilities to hire physicians," Melanson said. "We're actually providing them with more tools to do so in an effective manner."
Ken McGeorge was the CEO of Region 3 when government introduced the current physician billing number system. (Gary Moore/CBC)
The province's decision to phase out the physician billing number system is a step in the right direction, says longtime health executive Ken McGeorge.
McGeorge was CEO of Region 3 when the system was introduced in 1992.
He said it was originally brought in to save the province money.
"All the provinces and the federal government were really panicked about the rapid growth of health-care costs going at like three-to-four times inflation annually," McGeorge said.
He said it was a good idea at the time and it was part of broader health-care reforms that included regionalization.
Bringing in the system was a way for the government to control how many doctors were in the province and where they were located.
Supply-side economics
McGeorge says the health-care system is supply-side economics: "If you provide it, it will be used," he said.
Government's response to that was to control the situation and introduced the current billing system as a way to reduce the supply to help contain costs, McGeorge said.
"Everything in health care starts with a physician. They order the tests and they admit patients and they do the surgery."
The system proved to be a challenge for physicians wanting to set up practice in the province.
Health Minister Ted Flemming announced on Saturday that the province will phase out the physician billing number system. (CBC)
"In any given year, there may be no billing numbers in Fredericton, for instance, and so they either have to go somewhere else in the province or go somewhere else in the country."
McGeorge said the system has been a point of contention for as long as it's been around and doctors have pushed for change for at least a decade.
"Nothing in health care happens very quickly," McGeorge said.
He figures the system has stayed in place because the government didn't know any other way to control program growth, so the simple answer was to control numbers
McGeorge doesn't know what the new system will look like but said the onus will be on health authorities to plan programs, services and establish the number of physicians they need based on the programs they are going to offer.
He said government's decision to phase out the current system is a step in the right direction.
"Recruitment of physicians is a very complex thing, but is it enough? It's not at the end of the day but it's certainly a major start."
Doctors group calls on federal election candidates to put health care back on the agenda
Canadan Medical Association president-elect travels across country to discuss proposed solutions
CBC News·
Dr. Ann Collins, president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association, said some of the key health issues that need to be addressed include seniors care, access to care and digital health. (Canadian Medical Association)
The president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association was in Moncton on Friday as part of a cross-country tour to meet with federal election candidates about getting health care on the election agenda.
Dr. Ann Collins, who has a family practice in Fredericton, says provinces and territories are digging themselves deeper in debt trying to keep up with health-care costs.
And it's only expected to get worse as the population ages, unless the federal government steps up funding to address the so-called silver tsunami.
"Like anything, it will take a commitment," said Collins. "It'll take these parties the realization that this is … not an in-the-future [problem], it's here now, it's affecting the health of Canadians."
The association contends a top-up to the Canada Health Transfer to provide extra funding to provinces and territories, based on their population of seniors, could help.
It's one of several proposals developed by the association, which represents about 85,000 physicians, residents and medical students across the country.
It affects all of us. We're all potentially patients.
- Ann Collins, president-elect of Canadian Medical Association
"What we've heard from Canadians — and we've listened intently to Canadians over the last year — is that our health-care system is failing them," Collins said. "It's an antiquated system, if you will, and not meeting their needs.
"So we have put together a policy platform to help put forward proposals to the … federal election candidates on the issues that matter to our patients, to Canadians."
The association would also like to see a seniors care benefit, to help cover additional out-of-pocket expenses for seniors and their caregivers who currently spend more than $9 billion to care for their loved ones.
"Many of the caregivers to our seniors are seniors themselves and are beginning to struggle with what comes along sometimes with aging, so we need to support them," said Collins.
Other ideas include:
A $1.2 billion primary health-care transition fund to support the medical home model to improve access to primary care.
Support for a pan-Canadian medical licensing system, to expand virtual care and deliver health care to people in remote areas.
Without changes, Canadians face health care cuts and reduced quality of care, said Collins.
"It affects all of us. We're all potentially patients and so we want to have … the best system that we can to care for us and for our kids going forward."
I am on the ballot in Fundy Royal Perhaps she should ask me my opinion about Health Care
Anne Berube
Justin was supposed to change health care as we know it with larger transfers and accountability, his mother said so. It did not happen. More and more health care expenses have become the provinces' responsibilities. Now, let's concentrate on electing someone else. Justin was not and still is NOT ready.
Chris Butler
So universal free for all health care is not financially sustainable after all ? Who knew ? especially when 90 cents of every dollar is going to salaries and pensions of those who work in this money pit, thats what needs to be looked at.
David Lawfor
This is where it would be handy if a traditional Liberal government existed in Canada, or any western nation for that matter.
The new Liberal, new "left", is now strictly a Doomsday mitigation party, giving no thought to the working or lower classes as these classes are the ones that must make financial standard of living sacrifices in order to stop the Armageddon. This includes universal healthcare.
Paul Bourgoin
Well good luck to the Canadian Medical Association during the federal election with the candidates support for restoring health care back on the populations necessities. Election Promises are directed towards those who fund the Candidates, not Joe Public who only foots the overhead. GOOD LUCK!!
Maggie Leard
healthcare transfers from trudeau have been cut back, as part of equalization that is not equal to all provinces....trudeau has moved the lack of needed monies (from tax payers to ottawa) to the provinces. the provinces that actually have the responsibility of running healthcare....like paul martin before him, trudeau makes himself look good by sneakily cutting back the amount of transfers for healthcare from federal government to provinces..and provinces have no way of raising taxes to cover the shortfall. we canadians need to blame the level of government (federal) that is actually responsible for poor healthcare (especially in smaller provinces)
Anne Berube
Reply to @Maggie Leard: Exactly.
David Raymond Amos
Methinks CBC does not do a very good job verifying the names of their clients N'esy Pas?
Alex Forbes
If people want to put healthcare back on the table (literally) look at what we eat. Animal product consumption is killing animals and people.
John Haigh
Reply to @Alex Forbes: I've eaten 2 whole animals today and I feel great.
Alex Forbes
Reply to @John Haigh: Nothing like making light of a serious situation to show you don't care. I don't want to pay for your heart attack...
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Alex Forbes: Methinks John Haigh won't be having any heart attack He was led to the gallows and hanged by executioner Albert Pierrepoint on 10 August 1949 N'esy Pas?
Anne Berube
Reply to @Alex Forbes: Even the vegans & vegeterians go to hospital, have diseases, etc. Read on it. They consume buckets of protein powder, likely from Asia, God knows what it contains, I do not think it is healthier than some meats. And yes, too much meat is not good for you. But when you see for instance kale, lettuce, etc giving you food poisoning, it becomes very difficult to know what to eat and what not to eat.
Jebidoah Shylah
Part of that should surely be an open debate about marijuana legalization? Canadians were never properly consulted on this decision, which was hidden in an election platform where people vote for a variety of reasons. We need a referendum on marijuana legalization where all the pros and cons are raised. With it being legal for one year, a lot of the reasons we were told we had to legalize have been proved incorrect. We should also debate about whether Ottawa has the right to impose something like marijuana on the provinces. Why shouldn't New Brunswick be allowed to ban it?
Maggie Leard
Reply to @Jebidoah Shylah: trudeau trying to be his father again!!! canadians were never consulted on establishment of 'bilingualism outside of Quebec, never consulted on why Canada should use metric system when our largest trading partner (USA) has not even today. we were never consulted on 'war measures act' instigation either....so many slaps against the people who immigrated and settled canada..establishing canadian democracy (questionable today)...canadians need a broad discussion on the regulations and laws brought in by one political party that has chosen to ignore the real settlers of this country.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Jebidoah Shylah: Methinks its strange that someone who professes to be so righteous would post comments with such a name N'esy Pas?
Brian Tobin
Reply to @Jebidoah Shylah Why shouldn't New Brunswick be allowed to ban it?
Unless you are going to argue cannabis has no industrial purposes, dangerous and addictive as opium, and show the scientific method used to prove cannabis has no accepted properties... I'm going to argue it is because you can't jail a group based on lies or saying something isn't acceptable based on no scientific, or what would be legally justified, reason. And I'll use history to back me up on that one.
And because I happen to know it is crimes against humanity, which is based on the 100 years of lying and jailing of anyone whom even tries to contest their lies, that is how I know when I look I can switch out the ending of cannabis prohibition with the ending of slavery or the abuse of women and that arguement will work the same. And i'm not sure how much traction that will get ya.
May you never be in a group the government lied about for a hundred years and people still trust the accusers..
Jebidoah Shylah
Reply to @David Raymond Amos: I profess no righteousness, I am a sinner like everyone. That aside, why would my chosen name seem strange?
Jebidoah Shylah
Reply to @Brian Tobin: The entire first paragraph is nonsense and none of that has to be proved. Any purpose it may serve could be served via a non recreational pill, the same as any other controlled medication. The rest is just as silly as the stuff said by face paint fetish PM. Just look into the eyes of a marijuana drug user and see the dangers and effects.
