(Aaron Derfel/ Montreal Gazette) — The number of Quebec doctors who have opted out of medicare — billing patients directly for medical services — has jumped by nearly 50 per cent since Health Minister Gaétan Barrette implemented his sweeping reforms two years ago, the latest government figures suggest.
Although the number of physicians who have withdrawn from the public system has risen steadily over the years, the sharpest increases have occurred while Barrette has been in office. During this period, Barrette has carried out the most radical reforms to the health-care system in decades, imposing steep budgets cuts in line with the provincial Liberal government’s austerity campaign in the first two years of its mandate.
In mid-April of 2014, when Barrette was appointed health minister, the number of doctors who went private stood at 278. By Oct. 18 this year, that number had climbed to 410 — a hike of 47.4 per cent, according to the Régie de l’assurance-maladie du Québec (RAMQ). Among those who have quit the public system are gastroenterologists who are in great demand to perform colonoscopies to detect colorectal cancer. (…)