The province and the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) have reached a tentative four-year agreement that would, if ratified, strengthen the quality, access and timeliness of health care while providing a predictable physician services budget.
The tentative agreement contains annual increases to the Physician Services Budget that are limited to the costs of population growth, an aging society and funding for continued growth in doctors supply.
Other key components of the tentative agreement include:
- Funding that allows for the addition of new physicians annually to meet the needs of Ontario’s growing and aging population.
- A commitment to work together to implement the Primary Care Guarantee to ensure that every Ontarian who wants one has a primary care provider.
- A commitment to work together to improve access to primary care for patients, including same day/next day visits for urgent conditions and primary care coverage on evenings, weekends and holidays.
- Co-management of the Physician Services Budget that would allow both parties to work together to jointly identify savings, update fee codes and account for technological change, among other measures.
- One-time funding in each year of the agreement to further support health care priorities for patients.
Full article at: Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care