Family medicine

The rostering grant is an annual payment to fee-for-service family physicians who provide longitudinal family medicine (i.e., bill ME=CARE) to help them with overhead costs. The payment is $20 per rostered patient, up to 2,000 patients ($40,000). For example, a physician who has a roster of 1,310 patients will receive $26,200 annually. The payment is available as long as the physician has worked any portion of the previous fiscal year and is still working in a ME=CARE practice as of March 31 of each year. For the first year (2023–24), the grant will be paid out in two instalments, with the first payment coming in fall 2023.

Survey for additional information

An email was sent from the president, Dr. Colin Audain, to all fee-for-service family physicians on Nov. 20, 2023 with a survey to collect additional information to ensure they receive the rostering grant. Physicians who complete the survey by Nov. 27, 2023, will receive their rostering grant payment by the end of December 2023. If they complete the survey after Nov. 27 but before Dec. 31, 2023, they will receive their rostering grant payment in early 2024. If they have not completed the survey by Dec. 31, 2023, they will not receive a rostering grant for this period. The next rostering grant will be issued based on their panel size on March 31, 2024. 

The grant is also available to APP family physicians for the first six months of this year (at the rate of $10 per patient), to bridge the transition to the LFM payment model. The enhanced compensation in the LFM payment model includes funding for overhead support.

The contract also includes new funding to help rural specialists manage the costs associated with running their practice.

Specialists

The Rural Practice Support Program will help cover their overhead costs.