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The Physician Master Agreement (PMA) is the document that governs compensation and benefits for Fee-for-Service and Alternatively Paid Physicians in BC. In our bi-annual Member Survey, it is continually identified as the most important program and/or service in which Doctors of BC supports members. Members, however, frequently wonder how the negotiations process works, what actually takes place and when, and how their wishes are incorporated into the final agreement.
The following overview explains the key steps and milestones in developing the negotiations mandate, the bargaining process, and how an agreement is approved by members. It also highlights the importance of the physician voice in the development of the negotiating mandate and in bargaining.
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.Well in advance of us sitting down with government to start discussions, much prep work has already taken place. PMA negotiations are driven by members’ priorities on key issues such as funding for programs, fees, and benefits that we gather through extensive member consultation via a number of different avenues: our comprehensive negotiations survey; virtual webinars and Q&A sessions with members; and meetings with all sections and both societies, physician members of the GPSC, SSC, SCC, JSC, and the Joint Benefits Committee, and the Representative Assembly.
Once all the feedback is collected, it is then carefully analyzed to identify recurring themes and priority areas. Important issues raised by members for the 2022 PMA include funding to address growing business costs and ongoing support for virtual services to patients.
While member consultation is underway, Doctors of BC staff undertake an environmental review taking into consideration factors that can impact negotiations such as: economic indicators, other provincial settlements, government and Ministry priorities, and the Doctors of BC Strategic plan.
Once all member input is gathered and sorted into themes and the negotiations environment is assessed, Doctors of BC’s Negotiations team develops a draft negotiating plan which is then reviewed by two physician committees. Each of these committees offers a different perspective that provides expertise and input into the following elements of the draft negotiating plan: the strategic approach we will take with government, the core objectives that need to be achieved within the agreement, and the opening proposals.
Once the draft negotiating plan is endorsed by the Negotiations Forum, it is presented to the Doctors of BC Board of Directors for final approval. Approval by the Board constitutes direction to the Statutory Negotiating Committee to formally begin negotiations with the BC government.
When negotiations between Doctors of BC and the BC government formally begins, it is carried out by the Statutory Negotiating Committee (SNC). Comprised of experienced physicians from the NCG and supported by staff from the Doctors of BC’s Economics, Advocacy and Negotiations Department, the SNC’s primary responsibility is to conduct PMA negotiations in accordance with the negotiating plan approved by the Board of Directors. Doctors of BC’s Chief Negotiator is the chief advisor to the SNC and is the committee’s official spokesperson in the negotiations.
Both government and Doctors of BC typically agree to a communications/media blackout during the period of face-to-face negotiations so that each party can explore the broadest range of options to find a deal that represents both parties’ best interests. This is a common practice in negotiations of this nature.
For ease of reference, the timeline below outlines key elements during the 2022 PMA negotiations process. It will be updated throughout the course of bargaining.
Gathering information
Developing the negotiating plan and mandate
Bargaining begins
Doctors of BC is dedicated to keeping you informed throughout the entire negotiations process. We recognize you want to better understand something that directly affects you. While disclosing our bargaining position, the status of negotiations, or how talks are going will have to remain confidential, the negotiations process, our strategic approach, and where we are along the timeline are some of the elements we can share.
We will communicate this information via President’s Letters and our In Circulation e-newsletter. Visit the “My Account” section of our website to ensure you’re signed up to receive both of these member communications or visit our In Circulation Newsletters – Past Issues page for a compendium of the previous six months’ worth of In Circulation editions (login required).
There are a number of different ways that doctors get paid, but by far the most common is fee-for-service (FFS) – a fee is paid for each service doctors provide to their patients. The Medical Services Plan pays these fees, which are funded by public dollars. Other models include service, sessional, and salaried contracts for doctors who provide services to a publicly funded agency, such as a Health Authority, or at a hospital or community setting. Over the last few years, there has been a growing desire from many established and new-to-practice doctors to move away from a straight FFS payment method to some other or alternative payment models.
Doctors of BC supports the development and testing of new payment models in an environment where physician choice is protected and where parties have the opportunity to evaluate their effectiveness before broader use. In 2020 the BC Ministry of Health consulted with Doctors of BC and introduced a number of new contract options for BC doctors that provide more choice for those who want to move away from FFS and practice in a different way. More information can be found on our New Contract Options page, our Payment Models – Information for Physicians page, as well as in our summary paper, Physician Compensation Models: A Backgrounder which provides an overview of different payment models based on a review of BC and other jurisdictions.
Many physicians are responsible for paying overhead costs associated with running their practice. These costs come directly from any income they take in and have a huge range: from about 5% for some specialties, up to 35% for family practice, and even higher for other specialties. Overhead costs are typically comprised of IT infrastructure such as computers and electronic medical records software; medical equipment such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, weight scales, etc.; staff support, office rent, insurance, and utility payments, to name a few. The doctors’ income as reported in government’s annual ‘blue book’ is gross income that needs to cover payment of these overhead costs – that total would need to have overhead costs subtracted from it to identify the net amount of doctors’ income.
For the past 15 years, Joint Collaborative Committees (JCCs) have been working to improve BC’s health care system. A partnership between Doctors of BC and the BC government, the four committees – General Practice Services Committee, the Specialist Services Committee, the Shared Care Committee, and the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues – connect doctors, government, health authorities, patients and families, health professions, and other stakeholders who work together to improve access to care by focusing on patients and families/caregivers, building physician capacity, and coordinating health system services.
Funding for the work undertaken by the JCCs is provided through the Physician Master Agreement (PMA).
The 2019 Physician Master Agreement (PMA) was ratified by members in Spring 2019. The 3-year contract (April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2022) includes new funding for priority areas physicians identified through extensive consultation. The current PMA includes increases to Fee-for-Service fees, contract rates, physician benefits, and more.
For information on the current PMA, including an overview summary as well as the PMA document in its entirety, please visit our Physician Master Agreement webpage. If a subsequent Physician Master Agreement is being negotiated beyond the end date, the current PMA continues, with any retroactive payments paid after ratification by members.