The Parti Québécois is calling on the Couillard government to change its negotiating strategy with optometrists to prevent them from defaulting -- as they did last week by announcing that they were withdrawing from RAMQ, Quebec's health insurance board.
Dianne Lamarre, the PQ critic for health, believes that Health Minister Gaétan Barrette is taking too hard a stance with them, leading optometrists to turn and defend their own interests rather than those of the population.
According to Lamarre, it is the patients who are ultimately losers.
She believes that optometrists could contribute much more to the health care system, and she urges the government to loosen its purse strings and compensate them for what they do.
Earlier this week, the Quebec Association of Optometrists slammed the door on negotiations with the government and announced that 90 per cent of optometrists were withdrawing from RAMQ, rather than "face the insufficient fees paid by the RAMQ."
The five-year conflict agreement sets out the conditions for optometrists to participate in the public plan, which covers the under-18 and 65-plus population, as well as recipients of income security.
Those insured by RAMQ may have to pay out of pocket as of March 10, if no agreement is reached by then.
However, according to Lamarre, the Couillard government is to blame, since the previous agreement had expired since April 2015.