SGFP Tariff Update: New Gains & Fee Code Adjustments

Dear SGFP Members,

This week, I'm pleased to introduce a special update from our SGFP Tariff Lead, Dr. Salesh Budhoo. Dr. Budhoo will provide you with important information on recent developments in family medicine compensation and our ongoing advocacy efforts.

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Dr. Salesh Budhoo, SGFP Tariff Lead

Dear Colleagues,

As your SGFP Tariff Lead, I'm writing to share news and updates regarding our recent advocacy work and upcoming changes in compensation.

A Win to Increase your Business Revenue
The SGFP achieved a significant victory in adjusting the relativity formula in favor of family physicians. This success comes after years of relentless advocacy by the SGFP. Using discretionary funds donated by members, we hired an expert economist to conduct a thorough review of return on education data. The OMA accepted our new methodology, which will begin closing the gap between family medicine and other specialties.

This key victory will be reflected in the relativity formula applied to the recent arbitration award starting April 1. While the initial amounts for some family physicians may be modest, this marks an important step forward. Over time, the compounding effects will grow significantly, delivering thousands of dollars in benefits for family physicians now and well into the future. For a detailed explanation on relativity, I encourage you to watch this eight-minute video by our SGFP Executive member, Dr. Adam Stewart.

Upcoming Compensation Changes
As a result of the Year 3 2021 agreement and Year 1 arbitration award, the following changes occurred/are occurring:

1. January 2025 to March 2025: Temporary 13.0286% increase across all fee codes.
2. April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026: New temporary relativity based adjustments across all fee codes based on your funding model:
   • GP Capitation: 11.7513%
   • GP Enhanced FFS: 12.7535%
   • GP FFS: 13.5477%
3. April 01, 2026: Permanent Fee Code changes in the Schedule of Benefits will be implemented. This will be determined by the PPC process (more on this below).

Understanding the Changes
The recent changes are a result of the following increases:

1. 2021 PSA Year 3 award: 2.8% increase.
2. 2024 PSA Year 1 award: 9.95% increase.

Lump Sum Payments

1. October 2024 – lump sum payment for April 2023–March 2024 billings.
2. May 2025 – lump sum payment for billings from April to December 2024.

For more detailed information on these changes and their implementation, please watch our explanatory video.

Ongoing Compensation Efforts
The SGFP Tariff Team submitted several proposals to the Physician Payment Committee (PPC). We will be meeting again with the PPC on April 4th. The team will share the rationale for making necessary changes to existing OHIP billing codes that keep pace with the way we practice (e.g., A007 and multiple issues per visit), cover our procedure costs. And we need to add new codes that support issues such as gender pay, member priorities, and the time needed for counselling of patient issues. I am grateful to members who completed our PPC survey and to other sections to align our efforts.

The SGFP could not achieve these results without the support of our members through our discretionary fund. If you have not already, please consider contributing. With your support we can achieve even more for family doctors.

Support SGFP

We remain committed to advocating for fair, appropriate, and sustainable compensation for our profession. Thank you for your continued support and trust in our efforts.

Sincerely,
Dr. Salesh Budhoo
SGFP Tariff Lead

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