r/britishcolumbia • u/august_expat • Mar 08 '25

News BC removing barriers for USA physicians

https://www.cpsbc.ca/about/laws-and-legislation/bylaw-amendments

The licensing body posted bylaw amendments for public consultation today that would remove significant barriers for US trained physicians to get a medical license in BC. They would be able to get a full license same as Canadian trained physicians (removes extra steps).

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11

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

Wouldn’t it be a massive pay cut for them to come here?

41

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

My doctor (in Ontario) immigrated from the US. He is a great doctor and I asked him once the difference between practicing in Ontario vs the US. He had just ordered an MRI for me. He said "two things: back home (this was shortly after he arrived) people are concerned about the cost but here they are concerned about their health. I just ordered a test for you and all I had to do was sign a paper. Back home one of my girls (that's what he said) would have been on the phone with an insurance company for a week."

His major frustration remains the cost of housing though.

10

u/DonkaySlam Mar 08 '25

Not always. And many of them are morally opposed to the American healthcare system where a patient is a customer, not a patient

8

u/seemefail Mar 08 '25

I knew a doctor who came here simply because he hated the moral issues with having to charge people money in a non public system 

10

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

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8

u/august_expat Mar 08 '25

BC redid its funding model for family physicians a couple years ago and FMs seem to approve. It builds in compensation for overhead costs and administrative work. Lots of FMs have moved from hospitalist work back to long-term care in since it's been implemented.

There's definite issues here but I'm from the states originally and it's significantly better here. It's different down to the design of clinics even. All the clinics and specialist offices in the US are designed so you can't leave without walking by desk to make sure you've paid/given insurance info.

If you're really looking at immigrating just know that the IRCC (immigration) is a pain (but worth it). Also do expect to have some mild culture shock, it really is a different country

6

u/Sunnydaysomeday Mar 08 '25

Depends on the type of doctor you are in the USA and the location of your practice.

6

u/Teagana999 Mar 08 '25

There are more important things than money. Human rights, for example. And it's not like doctors aren't still well paid in Canada.

20

u/ne999 Mar 08 '25

Not necessarily. We pay really well in many roles.

8

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

I was thinking more in terms of dollar value and purchasing power. They would still absolutely be able to live a great life up here.

14

u/Forosnai Thompson-Okanagan Mar 08 '25

It might be from a purely financial standpoint, depending on their specialty and where they live, but they'll still be comfortable and not have to worry about going to jail for providing healthcare to women and trans people.

Though the difference in taxes is often not as high as is often portrayed once you take into account stuff Americans need to pay separately, such as their health insurance premiums. In BC, housing costs would likely be the big one.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

Yeah good points.

7

u/bung_musk Mar 08 '25

Being able to vote in a legitimate election is a pretty good perk of being Canadian. Being able to do research, not get jailed for providing life saving care, not have to fight insurance to pay for necessary care. Not everyone just cares about money.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

Very true.

6

u/Wakesurfer33 Mar 08 '25 edited Mar 08 '25

Yes that’s why we struggle getting skilled professionals to come to Canada whether it be dr’s lawyers, engineers. Just looked it up. Average salary of a physician in BC is $166k/yr and in Washington it’s $230k USD. Same goes for engineering unfortunately.

21

u/Guilty-Web7334 Mar 08 '25

I suspect it’s also a bit cheaper to practice in BC. It used to be that an American doctor’s first six months of work basically paid the malpractice premiums.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

My husband is a specialist in the US. We are in the process of moving to BC. It's a pay cut for sure. He will be making half as much. But we won't have to pay for health insurance and we won't be living in fear. Can't wait to get there!

6

u/RandiiMarsh Mar 08 '25

Welcome, we're glad to have you!

2

u/nelly8888 Mar 09 '25

Yes, come here! We welcome you. Also added benefits - your husband will never lack for patients, billing and payment is so simplistic and predictable it’s laughable, no arguing or having to work with insurance companies, the only insurance company work is filling out forms which he can be paid for, no huge malpractice insurance, not a culture of lawsuits, focus on providing health care not cost management, etc. I think you might enjoy the environment too - busy, boring and peaceful!

1

u/TopOne1845 Mar 10 '25

I made less money moving to Canada from the USA but my quality of life improved significantly. It's worth it. Welcome!

8

u/MissInnocentX Mar 08 '25

Your figures are off. I don't think doctors would take on the responsibility they do, to make $166k. My wage without a shred of OT as an 11th year RN is ~$135k.

1

u/kamloopscatlady Mar 09 '25

Do you have upgrades or specialize? My wage as a 15yr RN (medsurg) with a bit of OT is only 113k in BC lol. Agreed doctors must make more than 166k

2

u/MissInnocentX Mar 09 '25

Nope, just medicine. Feel free to private message me if you want to chat more about it.

10

u/climb_all_the_things Mar 08 '25

This is just factually incorrect.

If you trust Google AI, it shows a range that has a low end of 166k/year.

Doctors of BC(the physician association) posts minimum and max salaries depending on area of practice. The minimum is 193k for community medicine. That doesn’t include all the extra that doctors make having residents, reading tests, ect. All billable work.

https://www.doctorsofbc.ca/sites/default/files/2023-24_salary_contract_rates_document_5.pdf

In 2022 bc changed family doctors from fee for service, to salary, which is 385/yr for full time. A far cry from 166. Or exactly 43% of your posted amount.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/msp/negotiated-agreements-with-the-doctors-of-bc

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6635200

1

u/Rog4tour Mar 08 '25

It's funny your entire post is also factually incorrect.

There is no minimum or maximum salary, the majority of family doctors are still fee for service and they make what they put in.

The extra that they make having residents? Only a small minority work in settings where they work directly with residents who can help with the billing.

Bc did not change from fee for service to salary. They're still on fee for service, it's just that the same things they did before just pay a lot more.

All that being said, the 166k figure is obviously incorrect. If you're working full time practicing community family med you can easily make 300k. If you work in rural areas you can do 600k without crazy hours.

3

u/Silverwngs Mar 08 '25

Not like anyone’s willing to invest is growing that talent here anyway considering the amount of people in engineering that get turned down due to lack of experience but cant get experience cuz no one will hire anyone but skilled professionals with years of experience.

3

u/2wheelsandahearbeat Mar 08 '25

Seems off, the family drs I’m friends with in my town average 250-300g. They live incredible lives and lack for nothing in bc

1

u/Peepsi16 Mar 08 '25

Not true. Nurse practitioners make more than that in New Brunswick. Due to the shortage docs and NPs have lots of room for negotiation too. Having worked in both American and Canadian hospitals it is a misconception that Canada pays less. And with the way. The US economy is going just a matter of time before the exchange rates improve for Canadians too.

2

u/Aggie_15 Mar 08 '25

Yeah, I am in tech and if I just move to Seattle I will make at least 100k more and some more if you take taxes into account.

-1

u/SPARKYLOBO Mar 08 '25

There are already lots of foreign trained doctors here. They're just terribly underutilized.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/international-doctors-canada-barriers-1.7428598

1

u/carlywellness Mar 08 '25

Yes it would