Study: some private medical procedures much more expensive than in public sector

MONTREAL – A study has concluded that the cost of surgeries and other interventions performed in the private sector in Quebec far exceeds that of the public sector, sometimes by 150 per cent.

Data was obtained by the Institute for Research and Socio-Economic Information (IRIS) through an access to information request from a pilot project initiated in 2016 by former Health and Social Services Minister Gaétan Barrette to compare the costs of five types of surgery and procedures between the public network and three private clinics.

Anne Plourde, a researcher at IRIS, reports, among other things, that in 2019-2020, the cost of a carpal tunnel surgery averaged $908 in the private sector compared to $495 in the public sector; a short colonoscopy cost $739 in the private sector compared to $290 in a public institution.

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Between 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, in the public, the cost decreased by 11 per cent for cataract surgeries, 38 per cent for long colonoscopies, and 13 per cent for short colonoscopies, while it increased by 3 per cent, 4 per cent, and 81 per cent, respectively, when these procedures were performed in private medical centers.

Plourde added that the conditions negotiated by the Quebec government with private clinics as part of the pilot project are incentives to increase costs.

Ten days ago, a coalition of dozens of organizations criticized the Health Plan unveiled by the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, saying it was an attack on the pillars of the public system such as free care, universality and accessibility.

The coalition expressed concern that the privatization of the health care system is accelerating, noting that the private sector is not there to provide free health care, but to make a profit.

The government’s Bill 15 is aimed at reducing the wait for surgery.

This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on April 24, 2023.