Quebec/CMEDIA: A law reportedly requiring Quebec doctors to work in the public health-care system for five years after obtaining a medical degree in the province has officially been passed by Quebec.
Bill 83 was adopted on Thursday by a vote of 72 to 30 and is intended to improve access to health care for Quebecers by preventing doctors from exiting the public system for the private system.
“The universal health-care system, financed by the people of Quebec, must enable everyone to consult a doctor when they need to,” Health Minister Christian Dubé said in a statement.
“The private sector can help to support the public network: we will ensure that this contribution remains complementary, always in the interests of Quebec patients.”
Doctors are also mandated by Bill 83 to seek the approval of Santé Québec, the Crown corporation that runs the health network, to practise in the private system.
Santé Québec will either approve or reject a doctor’s request based on the following criteria:
- The number of available doctors in a region.
- 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.
Entitled An Act to Foster the Practice of Medicine in the Public Health and Social Services Network, the law includes the threat of fines for doctors who violate it with fines ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 per day, with repeat offences incurring fines of $40,000 to $200,000.
According to the Ministry of Health and Social Services, more than 835 of Quebec’s 22,868 doctors, an increase of 80 percent since 2020, are currently work exclusively in the private network
