In a shocking announcement Friday, Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro backed down on the Tory government’s pay cuts for physicians in rural Alberta..The United Conservative government in Alberta terminated the contract with the Alberta Medical Association in January, after passing legislation that would allow them to do so in the October budget released in 2019..“There is no contract with physicians,” Shandro said..“After the physician funding framework was released February 20, those conversations that we had with the AMA did not talk about the issues – these came from our colleagues and conversations with rural Albertans – they were in a bit of a vacuum and did not come from the AMA.”. AFL launches website for people to boycott businesses that donated to UCP .Physicians across the province of Alberta have taken an opposing position to the changes unilaterally enforced by the United Conservatives prior to the Covid-19 pandemic..These included changes to physician pay when doctors performed shifts in local hospitals, initially refusing to include pay for overhead costs at their clinics. The change resulted in a number of rural doctors opting out of hospital rotations due to the lack of pay..“As of March 31st, the government has decided that the care we provide in hospital is worth less than that same care given in clinic — even though for us they are under the same roof. While it is rewarding to offer all the extended services we are able to in Pincher Creek, they do come at a cost. This work is what steals us away from our patients during office hours and our families on evenings and weekends,” physicians in Pincher Creek wrote in an open letter Wednesday..Doctors at the Moose and Squirrel in Sundre tabled similar sentiments prompting a response from Sundre-Rimbey – Rocky Mountain House MLA and Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon..“I would encourage them to continue to work through the process,” said Nixon, who is the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre and the minister of Environment and Parks. “The place to deal with this is around the table. My view is that now is not the time, from both a pandemic perspective as well as from a financial perspective (to withdraw privileges)..“Now is not the time for division. Now is the time for all of us to work together to figure out how our province is going to get through this.”.The “division” came from the Tory government’s refusal to negotiate with the AMA, an organization who negotiates on behalf of Alberta doctors. The AMA is made up of physicians with a mission statement that stating “the AMA advances patient-centered, quality care by advocating for and supporting physician leadership and wellness.”.Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced Friday afternoon that rural physicians will continue to be paid for work done at local hospitals, in addition to their work in local clinics, and that medical insurance will continue to be partially covered by the Alberta government..Rural clinics will be capped at $1,000 while urban clinics will see caps on clinic portions anywhere between $1,200 and $4,000..“The intention was always to increase the nominal fee,” Shandro said, referring to the pay for hospital rotations for rural doctors..“We heard that from our caucus colleagues as they met with us, to be able to come us with practical solutions, to be able to make sure that we have an action plan to deal with these issues.”.Shandro laid blame at the AMA for “not relaying information” appropriately to physicians..“The misinformation they provided their members regarding insurance deductibles was incorrect,” Shandro said..“Our number one concern is making sure rural Albertans receive care.”.Shandro said that while the government is willing to provide alternative models to provide a predictable or stable opportunity for rural physicians, he said the population is decreasing, but overhead for rural physicians is not..Shandro reiterated that the AMA was providing misinformation to Alberta physicians..Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean is a Senior Reporter with Western Standard.dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter @Mitchell_AB
In a shocking announcement Friday, Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro backed down on the Tory government’s pay cuts for physicians in rural Alberta..The United Conservative government in Alberta terminated the contract with the Alberta Medical Association in January, after passing legislation that would allow them to do so in the October budget released in 2019..“There is no contract with physicians,” Shandro said..“After the physician funding framework was released February 20, those conversations that we had with the AMA did not talk about the issues – these came from our colleagues and conversations with rural Albertans – they were in a bit of a vacuum and did not come from the AMA.”. AFL launches website for people to boycott businesses that donated to UCP .Physicians across the province of Alberta have taken an opposing position to the changes unilaterally enforced by the United Conservatives prior to the Covid-19 pandemic..These included changes to physician pay when doctors performed shifts in local hospitals, initially refusing to include pay for overhead costs at their clinics. The change resulted in a number of rural doctors opting out of hospital rotations due to the lack of pay..“As of March 31st, the government has decided that the care we provide in hospital is worth less than that same care given in clinic — even though for us they are under the same roof. While it is rewarding to offer all the extended services we are able to in Pincher Creek, they do come at a cost. This work is what steals us away from our patients during office hours and our families on evenings and weekends,” physicians in Pincher Creek wrote in an open letter Wednesday..Doctors at the Moose and Squirrel in Sundre tabled similar sentiments prompting a response from Sundre-Rimbey – Rocky Mountain House MLA and Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon..“I would encourage them to continue to work through the process,” said Nixon, who is the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre and the minister of Environment and Parks. “The place to deal with this is around the table. My view is that now is not the time, from both a pandemic perspective as well as from a financial perspective (to withdraw privileges)..“Now is not the time for division. Now is the time for all of us to work together to figure out how our province is going to get through this.”.The “division” came from the Tory government’s refusal to negotiate with the AMA, an organization who negotiates on behalf of Alberta doctors. The AMA is made up of physicians with a mission statement that stating “the AMA advances patient-centered, quality care by advocating for and supporting physician leadership and wellness.”.Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced Friday afternoon that rural physicians will continue to be paid for work done at local hospitals, in addition to their work in local clinics, and that medical insurance will continue to be partially covered by the Alberta government..Rural clinics will be capped at $1,000 while urban clinics will see caps on clinic portions anywhere between $1,200 and $4,000..“The intention was always to increase the nominal fee,” Shandro said, referring to the pay for hospital rotations for rural doctors..“We heard that from our caucus colleagues as they met with us, to be able to come us with practical solutions, to be able to make sure that we have an action plan to deal with these issues.”.Shandro laid blame at the AMA for “not relaying information” appropriately to physicians..“The misinformation they provided their members regarding insurance deductibles was incorrect,” Shandro said..“Our number one concern is making sure rural Albertans receive care.”.Shandro said that while the government is willing to provide alternative models to provide a predictable or stable opportunity for rural physicians, he said the population is decreasing, but overhead for rural physicians is not..Shandro reiterated that the AMA was providing misinformation to Alberta physicians..Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean is a Senior Reporter with Western Standard.dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter @Mitchell_AB
