Doctors of BC is encouraging eligible community-based doctors to confirm they are receiving the Business Cost Premium (BCP). Effective April 2020, the BCP provides a percentage premium on MSP fees for in-person consultation, visit, counseling, and complete examination services to help cover the rising rent, lease, or ownership costs of a community-based office.

Register now

Eligible BC doctors who have not yet registered for the BCP are encouraged to do so. Doctors who meet the following criteria are eligible:

• You are responsible for some or all of the rent, lease, or ownership costs of a community-based office, either directly or indirectly.
• Your community-based office is in an eligible geographical location (e.g., Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria). Rural Retention Program (RRP) communities are not eligible; however, the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues is working on how it may direct funds to address this issue in rural areas.
• You are entitled to receive and retain payment for the eligible fees directly from MSP (i.e., payments assigned to health authorities are not eligible for the premium).

One month after its launch, the BCP was expanded to include telehealth (phone and video) fee items for consultation, visit, counseling, and complete examination services. This temporary measure ensures that eligible physicians can continue to access the premium during the pandemic, given these services would have normally been provided in person in physicians’ offices.

You may register at any time. Visit www.doctorsofbc.ca/business-cost-premium for information [9] and the application for registration.

If you are registered but not receiving payment

BC doctors who have registered for the BCP but are unsure if they are receiving payment are asked to double check their remittance statement. For doctors who have registered for the BCP, the payment will be listed in the adjustment area of the remittance statement [see Figure [10]].

The most common reason for not receiving payment after registration is missing information on the billing claim: specifically, the BCP facility number assigned to the physician’s community-based office. It is essential that the BCP facility number be included on each submitted billing claim for the Teleplan system to apply the correct percentage premium for each location. Please note that inclusion of the facility number on billing claims may not be automated with some billing software.

Doctors who still have concerns about their BCP payment are encouraged to phone Health Insurance BC (HIBC) for assistance. HIBC administers the BCP on behalf of the Medical Services Plan and offers dedicated phone support: Vancouver: 604 456-6950; elsewhere in BC: 1 866 456-6950. Upon request, HIBC can also provide approval for doctors to resubmit eligible claims to receive retroactive BCP payment.

If you have questions about the information in this story, email economics@doctorsofbc.ca [11].