Improved Fee-For-Service contraception fees

Improvements to the existing contraceptive care fees, including the creation of a new gynecologic cervical block fee, will be introduced effective December 1, 2023.

In April 2023, BC became the first province in the country to provide free universal coverage of prescription contraceptives. The full cost of options including contraceptive implants, IUDs, oral contraceptives, and more is now covered by Pharmacare.

Following this announcement, physicians and their organizations had been tirelessly advocating for improved fee-for-service compensation for contraceptive procedures, to ensure that that the full range of options is accessible for patients across British Columbia. The changes are a result of physician advocacy to support critical, front-line contraceptive care to patients.

If you have any questions about the changes, please email: View Email Addresseconomics@doctorsofbc.ca

Gynecologic Fees

The IUD insertion fee has seen a significant increase in demand, considering the business costs and time needed to provide trauma-informed IUD insertions. Therefore, the value of 14540 has increased from $46.79 to $55.22:

14540 Insertion of intrauterine contraceptive device (operation only) ..........$55.22 
Note: Includes Pap smear, if required.

A new gynecologic cervical block fee has been created to better enable the use of local anesthetic/cervical blocks for IUD insertions. The cervical block fee can also be billed for complex IUD removals (e.g., stringless IUDs), endometrial biopsies, cervical biopsies, and cervical polypectomies as is clinically required.

14563 Gynecologic Cervical Block – extra.......... $25.00
Notes:
i) Restricted to Family Physicians.
ii) Payable only when billed with 00784, 00785, 04509, 14540, or 14562 on the same date of service
iii) Payable at 100% in addition to 00784, 00785, 04509, 14540, and 14562.

Vasectomy Fees

Increasing the FP vasectomy bonus is an important step in ensuring that the full suite of contraceptive options is available to BC citizens, not only those identified in the free prescription contraception announcement. For this reason, the following changes have been made to fee item 13655:

• The fee value has increased from $23.56 to $45.00.

• The maximum number of annual payable bonuses per physician has increased from 25 to 50.

• Wording of notes iii) and iv) is amended for clarity.

13655 FP Vasectomy bonus associated with bilateral vasectomy – extra ......$45.00 
Notes:
i) Restricted to Family Physicians.
ii) Maximum of 50 bonuses per calendar year per physician.
iii) Payable only in addition to fee item S08345.
iv) Maximum of one bonus per vasectomy per procedure.