Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand's budget has been under tremendous scrutiny since it was first presented earlier this week.

The Finance Minister's plan to enforce a health "contribution" once a year to raise $945 million annually, and to set up a "user fee", which would add a further $500 million, has turned out to be the center of dissatisfaction over the budget.

According the new plan, patients will declare their hospital visits on their income tax returns. With the new plan kicking in, a scenario where, at $25 per visit, a patient who sees a physician 20 times a year, would be paying $500, in addition to the aforementioned yearly "health contribution".

More than anyone, physicians are resenting the idea. They say that the "user fees" will in fact keep away patients from seeking required health care.

Dr. Yves Robert, who is the Secretary of the College des Médecins du Québec, said, "It would encourage private clinics to recruit patients. For the same premium, you can come to us".

He added a very valid point, saying that private clinics could very well make doctors turn to the private sector. He said that the administrators who envisioned the scheme did not foresee that.

The funds from the health contribution should be channelized towards new services like family medicine groups and home care for the old, he said.