Ontario's health minister has accused the Ontario Medical Association of running a "campaign of misinformation" over recent government cuts to billing fees.
Health Minister Deb Matthews said the medical group was lying to its members by making the cuts seem worse than they actually were.
"The OMA is spreading a campaign of misinformation to its members," Matthews told CTV Canada AM on Wednesday. "They are running a campaign that is an outright lie. They are claiming we are cutting $1 billion from health care. We are adding $1 billion to our health care budget."
The Ontario government announced this week that several hundred service fees would be cut from what doctors can charge under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
The changes retroactively take effect April 1, cutting the income of many doctors, hitting specialties such as ophthalmology, radiology and cardiology the hardest.
The decision came after the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) rejected a four-year deal over the weekend.
OMA President Dr. Doug Weir rejected Matthews' accusation on Wednesday. He said the government has maintained its plan to cut more than $1 billion over the next four years, but is trying to paint it as an investment in the system.
"Their four-year plan is to cut $1.1 billion. That is what they came to the bargaining table with. They didn't move off of that," Weir told Canada AM.
"Talk about spreading misinformation. When she says ‘we are proposing $1 billion worth of cuts, but we are putting $1 billion into the health care system,' I don't get the math."
The OMA says the reduction of fees for which doctors are able to bill threatens the quality of care they are able to provide.
The ophthalmologist-in-chief at Toronto's St. Michael's Heath Centre said he's concerned about the potential impact on patients.
"My concern is for my patients and patient care," Dr. Alan Berger told Canada AM.
"Some of the cuts that have been implemented are going to affect us and impede us in providing evidence-based care.
"Scientific evidence shows that we can provide optimal care to patients when we are able to do the testing we need to do. Without doing the testing: stabbing in the dark."
The fee changes affect some 37 procedures and services related to family care and cardiac care, diagnostic services, eye care and anesthesia.
Matthews says the average Ontario doctor bills $385,000 each year, a 75 per cent increase since 2003, when Dalton McGuinty was first elected premier.
The government says the fee cuts will save the province $338 million this year alone.
Matthews added that 90 per cent of doctors would not be affected by the fee cuts. Only the most highly-paid doctors will be affected.
"The OMA is doing a very good job of getting people very upset, but if they actually look at the changes, I think most doctors will realize these are the right changes for the system."
