This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of the Ontario Medical Review magazine.
OMA committed to ensure timely delivery of all elements of the agreement
Since the 2021 Physician Services Agreement was ratified by members on March 28, the OMA and the Ministry of Health have begun to implement initiatives agreed to as part of the PSA.
The prospective payments for Year 2 are now in place, with physician payments being adjusted by an additional 2.01 per cent on each of their monthly Remittance Advice (RA) from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. Managed entry into Family Health Organizations has also begun, with applications being received as of April 1. Applications are also being received for new on-call groups including Hospital On-Call and Community Palliative Care groups. There have also been funding increases and programmatic changes implemented for the Parental and Pregnancy Leave Benefit Program and the work is underway for many of the new and continuing committees and working groups. Of note, the OMA-MSPC (Medical Services Payment Committee) will transition to the Physician Payment Committee (PPC) and the work that the OMA-MSPC began will be carried forward by the PPC.
By the end of fiscal year 2022-23, members can expect their lump sum payments for Year 1 to be paid on the February 2023 RA, the commencement of the permanent virtual care framework by Oct. 1, 2022, some patient-centred changes to the Family Health Organization (FHO) model implemented, Appropriateness Working Group (AWG) work concluded, permanent Year 2 increases finalized by the PPC, and a complement review of the Rural and Northern Physician Group Agreement (RNPGA) model to be completed.
The Negotiations Task Force has been meeting with its ministry counterparts to discuss and resolve impending implementation issues to ensure timely delivery of all elements of the 2021 PSA. Likewise, staff remain in close contact with their ministry counterparts to ensure the effective operationalization and communication of the roll out of the 2021 PSA.
Find more information on the 2021 Physician Services Agreement. Members will be kept apprised of progress on implementation of the agreement on the website, as well as through OMA News and board and president’s updates. Contact info@oma.org with any questions.