The rates of Health Care Professionals

There, in black and white

During the summer, we conducted our 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. 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 2005 allows you to validate the inflation assumption used by your insurer in renewing your premium rates.

Methodology

We first consulted professional associations for each specialty. These associations recommend price levels but do not set mandatory fee schedules. A number of associations, however, compile data based on the fee schedules of their members. The table presented on the following page presents these recommendations and statistics.

As in the previous year, we surveyed a sample of private clinics in the Montreal, Quebec City and Outaouais regions. The results are presented on an average fee per visit basis rather than by an hourly rate since group insurance plans usually establish their maximum reimbursement amounts on a per visit basis. Also, please note that a number of specialists charge additional fees for opening a file as well as for conducting an assessment during the first visit. These additional fees are not included in our survey results.

Highlights

• Overall, we observed an average fee increase of approximately 4% in the Montreal region and of 7% in the Quebec City and Outaouais regions since summer 2005, which represents a $5 to $10 increase per visit. However, it is important to note that although this average increase is higher than in past years, fairly significant variations in fees per visit were recorded for certain specialties.
• The results obtained show that average fees were lower in Quebec City than in Montreal, with the exception of fees charged by dieticians and occupational therapists. A difference of approximately $10 per visit was observed, but these differentials vary depending on the specialty.
• The average fees per visit for the Outaouais region are similar or slightly lower than those observed for the Montreal region. However, we observed an exception for occupational therapists, massage therapists and psychologists, whose average rates are higher than those for the other regions. A much longer average visit length in Outaouais compared to Montreal explains this difference.
• We also noticed a decrease in fees for dieticians in the Outaouais region. This is explained by a decrease in the average length of visits in this region compared to what we observed during summer 2005.

Comparative Table of Average Fees per Visit (Summer 2005)

⁽¹⁾The results for podiatrists in the Outaouais region are not presented since the number of specialists working in private clinics is too limited.

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

Please feel free to contact us for additional information.