Our Annual General Meeting is will take place on February 29, 2024 at 7:00 pm
Please email us at info@mdassistgroup.com to receive an invitation to join us in this important ZOOM meeting event
If you have not signed up to the Surgical Assist MIG Group yet, please do so. Check out our homepage and click on the 'Join Surgical Assist Group' bar
A link to the last Annual General Meeting video recording is provided on the next Banner.
AGM December 2022 Agenda:
A. Open Meeting and Introductions
B. Chair’s Report
1. Goals of the MIG
2. Negotiations Update
3. Membership Support
4. OMA structure
5. Fall General Assembly Meeting
C. Financial Report
D. CME Update
E. Media Use
F. HOCC Funding
G. New Business
H. Close Meeting
Please click on the link below, or copy and paste the link below in a new window to view the recording of the Dec 8, 2022 Annual General Meeting
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OouRYvZDchh6qHyMWpJTg_bTz7sJ0KgY/view?usp=sharing
Much has happened since October 2019.
By now you know the result of the MSPC (Medical Payment Services Committee) decision regarding our fee codes.
The MSPC has the final say in what fee code proposals we have made are accepted or rejected. It is composed of four OMA members and four MOH members. Dr. Laurence Colman is the Co-Chair on our side and Dr. Michael Klar is the Co-Chair on the MOH side.
For your reference, here is the link to the MSPC document on the OMA website (you will have to sign in):
https://content.oma.org/wp-content/uploads/private/mspc-fee-changes-final-report.pdf
We have been busy trying to understand what happened and why.
As a result of our analysis, we believe that we have been shortchanged by a faulty MSPC decision process.
Our Group is also subject to unfair representation systemically, in terms of lack of direct relativity scoring, and a lack of Sectional representation. In addition, the relativity scoring used on us was not applied fairly.
Because our Group was never rated for relativity directly, we should use a weighted average of our group's demographics to arrive at a fair score.
Because the MSPC did not use a fair weighted average in their calculations, we were shortchanged in our overall increase.
We should have gotten $4.75 Million on top of our $100 Million per fiscal year budget, not $2.5 Million.
This is why your upcoming surgical assistant fee increase was very low.
We have already experienced unequal pay for equal work for our lump sum payments, as many of you will know.
By now you should have received a PDF letter by email, which explains our position in detail. If you would like a copy of that letter, please email us at info@mdassistgroup.com
We are registering a formal complaint with the CEO, Presidents, Board Chair, MSPC and the PSC.
In other words, everyone of importance at the organization that is supposed to represent our interests.
There is systemic unfairness at the OMA:
We want the OMA and MOHLTC to evaluate us fairly like all the other members.
We want the OMA to represent us equally by giving our Section back.
We ask that the MSPC use logic and a fair decision making process when evaluating our fee code proposals.
We ask that the MSPC not hide critical information from us, as they did this past year.
We ask that the OMA distribute the lump sum increases fairly, according to the type of work done, and not by what type of specialist group physicians belong to.
Most importantly, we want the OMA to do what it says. It has talked about equal pay for work of equal value, but not acted accordingly.
We encourage feedback from you, our members, and more importantly, to the people who are supposed to represent us fairly at the OMA: the negotiations committee, the RAC (Relativity Committee - supposed to help us figure out what fair pay means), the MSPC, the PSC (Physician Services Committee, which oversees the MSPC) and the Board (makes major decisions).
You can reach them at: info@oma.org
You can reach us at: info@mdassistgroup.com
Chair of Surgical Assistants Group Needed
Next Contract Negotiations Fall 2020
Since no one signed up to be the Chair of the Surgical Assistants Group, Dr. D'Sa will be continuing on as Interim Chair, until our Spring 2020 AGM (which may be virtual/online in light of the current situation with COVID-19).
After that, your Group at the OMA will no longer have a Chair to lead you or speak on your behalf.
We would encourage members who are interested in negotiating our next contract (coming up this Fall) to please sign up for our Groups' Chair position. We could use some fresh blood! Please contact us at info@mdassistgroup.com and we will guide you and communicate all relevant knowledge.
Good luck to you all, and be safe.
OMA Surgical Assistants Group
Alfred D'Sa, MD, Interim & Past Chair
Dan Cohen, MD, CCFP, Vice-Chair
Martha Riesberry, MD, Treasurer
Peter Levers, MD, FRCSC, Past CME Chair
Ian Soutter, MD, FRCSC, Member at Large
Email: info@mdassistgroup.com
The last time I wrote an update was after the OMA's Spring Council meeting in Ottawa. Since then, much has happened behind the scenes.
The Surgical Assistants Group has been working on making arguments for equal pay for equal work both between sections and within our Group. To that end we have authored two detailed reports supporting our cause.
Our arguments, backed by some data, and the scoring system the OMA/Government will use, will determine if we get any raise in our fees and for which fee codes.
This process involves making a presentation to the Medical Services Payment Committee (MSPC), who will then decide how to allocate monies to the various Sections and Groups. The MSPC consists of both OMA and government individuals who must come to an agreement by December 2019 so that fee code changes can take place in April 2020. Their decisions are final and cannot be appealed. The MSPC has put up a website for more detailed information. It is worth reading.
Survey
As part of the data gathering process, we have put out a survey to our members and beyond, to find out what we should rank as our top priorities in addressing pay inequality. If you have not filled out the survey, please do so. If you did not get a survey link, please check your Spam folder or contact the OMA at cgcommunications@oma.org. Make sure that you have agreed to accept emails and surveys from the OMA in the member preferences of your OMA Account page, or you will not receive one. Now is not the time to refuse messages regarding your future pay or income! The survey will not be the only data we use, but it will help us to make a better informed decision on your behalf.
Back Pay: When Will You Get It?
You might be wondering if and when you will get the much anticipated retroactive pay that was alluded to in January 2019. Finally we have some details. For the Fiscal Year beginning April 1, 2017 and ending March 30, 2018 (Year 1 of the arbitrated contract), you can expect a payment in December 2019. For the following fiscal year beginning April 1, 2018 and ending March 30, 2019 (Year 2), you can expect a payment in April 2020. As we are currently in Year 3, we do not have a date for this year's retroactive payment. Year 4 will not have a lump sum payment, but will be characterized by fee code changes that will collectively result in a 3.54% increase in the Physician Services Budget.
Back Pay: How Much Will You Get?
The answer is an unfair one - sorry. You will get the percentage determined by your Hybrid Relativity Score, regardless of the type of work you have done. Your Score depends on what OHIP Specialty you belong to. For example, for GPs it will be "00". Here is a list of codes. If you don't know, it can be found as part of your billing number (first two digits before the hyphen). You then multiply your percentage by your gross OHIP income for that time period to estimate your back pay. Unfortunately, this means that surgical assistants will get different amounts of back pay even if they did exactly the same work. We have repeatedly pointed out the unfairness of this process to the leadership at the OMA and hope that future governance changes will grant us fair representation.
Year 1, 2 and 3 percentages - click here and go to pages 16, 17 and 18
Future Pay: What's in Store for Year 4 and beyond?
We honestly do not know at this point how much our Group will get in terms of an overall budget increase and consequent fee codes changes come April 2020. We have a way to cost various fee increases but the overall amount will likely be determined by the MSPC. Because our Group spans many sections, we expect that the MSPC will pay attention to the decisions of the SGFP (Section of General and Family Practice). I have therefore reached out to the SGFP in an effort to come to some collaborative agreement on the issue and to make sure our position is understood. To get an idea of the Year 4 percentages allocated to each group, click here. Of note: Family Practice will be divided into three sub-groups, and a modified Hybrid Relativity Score will be applied, using updated OMA scoring data.
I hope you have found this update informative. By all means do let the OMA, and us, know your thoughts.
Wish us luck as we fight for your fee increases!
OMA General Member email: cgcommunications@oma.org
OMA Surgical Assistants Group: info@mdassistgroup.com
Alfred D'Sa, MD
Chair, Surgical Assistants Group at the OMA
Disclaimer: These views are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the OMA