A Parti Québécois (PQ) government would reduce doctors’ compensation to reinvest the funds elsewhere in the health care system. This was suggested by PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in an editorial interview with The duty.
The candidate for the post of Prime Minister had already committed to reviewing the remuneration of doctors, without ever specifying how. He is counting on a drop in the salaries of practitioners, in addition to a better use of resources, he says in the offices of the To have toto Montreal.
“It will lead to lower costs. And therefore, we will have more money to reinvest in the health care system,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
For the moment, in Quebec, doctors make most of their money by performing medical procedures. In 2019, general practitioners in Quebec earned an average of $274,000 per year, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. In 2021, more than 7.5 billion dollars have been invested to pay the medical profession.
In places like Ontario, part of the remuneration is linked to the care of patients. The chief caquist, François Legault, had committed in 2018 to imitate the neighboring province by establishing a mixed system; he hasn’t done it yet.
“The fee-for-service system has never been reformed”, observes “PSPP”. “It costs us a lot more than if we [fonctionnait] by capitation. »
To note
A St-Pierre Plamondon government would negotiate new agreements with the professional orders of physicians to set new coverage rates, without however completely abandoning fee-for-service. He assures that such a proposal would not discourage professionals who wish to enter medicine. “There are several doctors in favor of a public and accessible system,” he notes.
“Basically, it will cost us less,” sums up the leader of the PQ, who also undertakes to reduce the share of the private sector in the health network.
See the full editorial interview in the video below:
A new year one budget
With more money in its coffers, Quebec would have the means to invest more money in CLSCs and home care, the priority of this election campaign for the PQ. It would also be an opportunity for public finances to recover, observes Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon. He will also present an update on the finances of a sovereign Quebec – a “budget for year one” – between now and the first debate of the election campaign, learned The duty.
“I think people will read this with great interest. Including [François] Legault”, who had written a year one budget in 2005. Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon did not want to give more details, except that the document, whose distribution was first planned for the national holiday, is approved by experts.
PSPP maintains that there is no better vehicle for independence on the current political scene than the PQ. “We take full responsibility. »
He frontally attacks Québec solidaire (QS), which has entered its sovereignty proposal on the penultimate page of its platform, he observes. “Québec solidaire’s independence program is the way to ensure that this never happens,” says the PQ leader.
“It’s a debate on a constitution in which you have federalists and separatists. People who don’t think the same […] on full [d’affaires] “, he continues. “Then, the vote, it does not take place on whether we want to decide for ourselves if we want a country, it takes place on the whole of this document. Do you see the amount of opportunities to say no? »
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon once again brushes off the idea of joining forces with the left-wing party, which has six percentage points more than its party in the voting intentions of Quebecers, according to the latest Léger poll. . “There is only one [parti] which advertises, messages to promote the fact that we should decide for ourselves as a normal state, ”he argues.
The PQ leader believes he is leading a “more avant-garde” and “more ambitious” campaign than QS in some respects. He wants to invest two billion dollars a year more in home care and would not offer tax breaks as proposed by the Solidaires. “Sometimes I’m surprised to see that we’re the only party to say things like ‘let’s protect our public services’. »
In terms of climate, PSPP agrees that there are several similarities between the programs of the two formations. Asked about his decision to wait before imposing taxes on the purchase of polluting vehicles — unlike QS — he justifies himself: “Even if I [une surtaxe] tomorrow morning on all vehicles for sale, the consumer has no options. […] If he is a prisoner of this option, we can raise the price of gas, tax, overtax, all we do is impoverish him. »
” I am not afraid “
The least known of all party leaders, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is staying the course, even if the PQ is lagging behind in voting intentions: it is by campaigning in a “positive” way that he will win the heart of Quebecers, he believes.
“I try as little as possible to be in [un] contest of superlatives”, says the PQ leader, who wishes to rely on the principle of “quality before quantity” to conduct his electoral tour.
“On independence, I was told: ‘You intend to support the independence of Quebec, aren’t you afraid?’ “You tell us you want to do politics without attacking others, aren’t you afraid that it will take away your visibility?” raises the PQ leader.
“I’m not afraid,” he replies.
PSPP promises to have “du fun by the end of the campaign, regardless of the trends observed in the polls. Asked about his intentions if he was not elected, the leader of the PQ replied that he would defer to the members of the party. “I am in a party of members. I got involved with the members [à] serve as long as my services are required,” he said. “I will always be loyal. »
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