Normandin Beaudry's Information Bulletin

During the summer, Normandin Beaudry conducted its 12^th annual survey of fees charged by health care professionals in Quebec. Since health care services provided by these specialists are generally covered by group insurance plans, we believe that the results of our survey will be of great interest to you.

NB Bulletin Vol. 12, no 13, November 2009

Rates for Health Care Professionals in 2009

The average fees per visit could be useful in establishing the maximum amounts payable under your group insurance plans. Moreover, the average fee per visit increase compared to that of 2008 allows you to validate the inflation assumption used by your insurer in renewing your health premium rates.

Methodology

We surveyed a sample of private clinics in the Montreal, Quebec City and Outaouais areas. Our results are presented on an average fee per visit basis rather than an hourly rate basis since group insurance plans usually establish their maximum reimbursements on a per visit basis. Also, note that a number of specialists charge additional fees for the initial assessment. These additional fees are not included in our survey results.

We also consulted professional associations for each specialty. These associations recommend price levels but do not set mandatory fee schedules. Some of them, compile data using their member's fee schedules. Professional association's recommendations and private clinics statistics are presented in the table below.

Highlights

Overall, since the summer of 2008, we observed an average fee increase of approximately 2.5% in the Montreal area, 4.7% in the Quebec City area and 4.0% in the Outaouais area, which represent a $2 to $3 increase per visit.

The results show that average fees are similar for audiologists and speech therapists in all areas. Although the data for the Quebec City area is unavailable, we also observed that the average naturopaths fee are similar in Montreal and in Outaouais areas.

With regards to psychologists, we observed a significant fee per visit difference between the Outaouais area and other areas. On average, the fee per visit charged by psychologists in the Outaouais area is $15 to $25 higher than in the other areas.

The average fees per visit in the Outaouais area are similar or slightly lower than those observed in the Montreal area, with the exception of fees charged by massage therapists and psychologists which are higher.

Comparative Table of Average Fees per Visit (Summer 2009)
		Private Clinics
Specialty	Professional Associations	Montreal	Quebec City	Outaouais
Acupuncturist	$60	$55	$50	$50
Audiologist and Speech Therapist	$100 to $300	$90	$90	$90
Chiropractor	$60	$45	$40	$35
Dietitian	$70	$40	$35⁽³⁾	n/a⁽²⁾
Occupational Therapist	$60 to $105⁽¹⁾	$60	$65	$60
Homeopath	$60 à $100	$70	$55	$70
Masseur and Massage Therapist	$60 to $80⁽¹⁾	$55	$65	$70
Naturopath	$60 to $80	$75	n/a⁽²⁾	$75
Osteopath	$80 to $100	$75	$70	$75
Physiotherapist	n/a	$60	$50	$50
Podiatrist	$60 to $80	n/a⁽²⁾	$50	n/a⁽²⁾
Psychologist	$80 to $125	$90	$80	$105
⁽¹⁾ 2008 data because 2009 data is not available.
⁽²⁾ The results are not presented because the number of specialists working in private clinics is too limited.
⁽³⁾ Last year, an hourly rate was presented in the table. This year, a half-hour rate is presented.

The schedules of reasonable and customary fees used by insurers for claims handling in Quebec are slightly higher than the average fees per visit observed for most of surveyed specialists.

Please feel free to contact us for additional information.

The Normandin Beaudry Consultants

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