B.C. nurses say they are being ‘gouged’ by insurance, association fees

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – More than 8,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the B.C. government to “stop gouging” nurses with “hefty increases” in fees they have to pay in order to practice.

“Nurses in British Columbia are FINISHED with unreasonable hikes in licensing costs and skyrocketing insurance fees being downloaded on to our predominantly female and racially diverse workforce,” the petition says.

Christina Gower, a registered psychiatric nurse who works at New Westminster’s Royal Columbian Hospital, said she started the campaign to stand up for her colleagues, whom she described as the “David” in “a story of David and three Goliaths.”

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She said the three Goliaths are the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM), Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of B.C. (NNPBC), and the Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS).

The college regulates the profession, while the NNPBC promotes nursing, and CNPS is a non-profit providing liability insurance to nurses across the country.

All three organizations are separate from the B.C. Nurses Union, which represents workers on issues of pay, benefits and work conditions. The union declined to comment for this story.

‘What’s one more fee? We feel like we’re done’

Gower said recent changes to the structure of the organizations and the provision of insurance has led to an unfair hike in annual fees charged to nurses.

Previously, the college had sole responsibility for collecting registration fees and insurance premiums. But the college was broken up in 2010 to eliminate its advocacy work, which was deemed in conflict with its regulatory role.

The Association of Registered Nurses was created to fill that gap and later rebranded as the NNPBC as B.C. began to amalgamate health-care colleges, including those for nursing.

The new structure has changed how nurses pay for their insurance.

In 2020, RNs and RPNs paid $50 for group-rate coverage, but in 2021 they have two options: $109 for a bundle of association membership and group-rate insurance or $165 to forego NNPBC membership and purchase insurance at an individual rate.

Gower said she doesn’t want to join the NNPBC because it’s an unnecessary organization, as nurses already get the education, regulation and representation they need from their union, college and employers.

“What’s one more fee? We feel like we’re done,” she said.

Nurses not forced to join association

But the NNPBC’s executive director, Michael Sandler, said the association plays an important and distinct role by advocating for nurses within B.C.’s health-care sector.

He said the lower insurance rate for association members should help nurses save money.

“No one’s making them become a member,” he said. “We are hopeful that nurses will see the value in having a strong professional voice, especially as it relates to advocating for nurses’ place within the system and take the opportunity to be part of that larger voice.”

BCCNM executive director Cynthia Johansen was unavailable for an interview, a spokesperson said.

In an October announcement, the college said the change in insurance provision was made “in alignment with government recommendations to modernize health profession regulation in British Columbia and ensure regulators are solely focused on their mandate to protect the public.”

“Given its mandate to serve the nursing profession, NNPBC is appropriately placed to take on this work on behalf of nurses in B.C.,” the statement said.

Gower also said nurses are being overcharged because CNPS only offers $10 million in liability protection – exceeding the legally mandated minimum of $5 million for RNs and RPNs.

In an email, a CNPS spokesperson said: “The amount of professional liability protection provided is based on an analysis of court awards and settlement payments so that nurses have adequate protection to cover an award that may be made against them and so that patients are fully compensated when harmed in the provision of care.”

CNPS offers the same protection to nurses across the country, the spokesperson said.

B.C.’s Ministry of Health did not respond by NEWS 1130’s deadline.