Residents of Montreal will have to wait longer for colonoscopies after Cliniques d'endoscopie du Quebec closed 11 private clinics throughout the province, CBCNews Montreal reports.
Here's what you need to know.
1. Clinic President John Motter said he decided to close the clinic because without the accessory fee "we can't finance the operations."
2. Mr. Motter sent a letter to the health ministry urging it to make an exception for the clinics to continue privately charging for colonoscopies.
3. Quebec's health insurance board pays physicians $160 for a colonoscopy. The physicians could charge up to $550 in accessory fees. The fees covered staff, equipment, sterilization and other services.
4. The private clinics were an alternative to the public clinics which suffer from long wait times.
5. The clinics could bill the entire cost of the procedure, but if they do, the physician could not work in a public health facility.