Preparing for the changes
Although the changes are not yet in effect, physicians should prepare for the expansion by completing the following steps.
Register your community-based office. This involves completing two forms:
- Complete a BCP Facility Number application for your community-based office.
- Complete a Physician Attachment form. This step is crucial, as although the BCP facility number will be used as an identifier on the billing claim, HIBC will check to confirm that the physician is attached to a community-based office in an eligible geographical location.
- Consult with your EMR vendor to ensure the BCP facility number and applicable Service Location Code (SLC) can be entered on all MSP claims.
- If you receive BCP, confirm with your vendor that the BCP facility number and applicable SLC can be entered on all MSP claims beyond Consultation, Visit, Counselling, and Complete Examinations.
- Billing claim requirements (when implemented):
- BCP Facility codes and Service Location Codes (SLCs) are mandatory requirements for BCP payment. Both BCP Facility Code and SLC data fields must be populated on each MSP billing claim.
- As BCP facility codes are currently limited to community offices, work is underway to expand facility codes to include all locations where physicians are entitled to receive and retain payment for fees directly from MSP.
How the BCP calculated and paid to physicians
The percentage values and the daily maximum amounts of the BCP are based on the eligible fees and the location of the community-based office in which the services are provided:
- For the City of Vancouver: 5% of eligible fees up to a maximum BCP payment of $60 per day per physician.
- For Metro Vancouver (excluding the City of Vancouver) and Greater Victoria: 4% of eligible fees up to a maximum BCP payment of $48 per day per physician.
- For other communities (outside Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria) not eligible for the Rural Retention Premiums: 3% of eligible fees up to a maximum BCP payment of $36 per day per physician.
- The BCP will be applied to eligible fees submitted on the physician’s MSP-billing claims and paid to the physician’s payee number (or assigned payee number, if applicable). The claims system will apply the premium percentage and calculate the daily maximum. To identify the physical location in which services are provided and for the correct percentage premium to be applied, physicians will need to include their assigned BCP Facility Number on their billing claims.
See the list of eligible fees by section.
How to register for the BCP
Step one: Obtain a BCP facility number
Register your community-based office for a BCP facility number, which will identify the physical location in which services are provided and allow for the correct percentage premium to be applied.
The physician responsible for administration of the office (the Facility Administrator) can apply for a BCP facility number by submitting the online application linked below. Only one BCP facility number is required per office, regardless of whether it is a solo or group practice.
Obtain BCP facility number forms:
Please note:
- Only the facility administrator should apply for a BCP Facility Number, to ensure multiple applications for the same location are not submitted.
- If you are the Facility Administrator at multiple eligible locations, a BCP Facility Number application will need to be submitted for each unique physical location.
- Ensure to check the box to request the BCP be applied to eligible fees paid to eligible physicians attached to that facility.
- The facility effective date is the date the clinic originally opened at its current location.
- If you prefer to mail the application, complete the “Fill and Print” form and mail to the Health Insurance BC address listed at the bottom of the form.
Step Two: Complete a Physician Attachment form
Once your location has been assigned a BCP facility number, you can complete the online Physician Attachment form linked below to attach yourself to your office and its facility number.
Practitioner Attachment forms:
Please note:
- If you practice at multiple eligible offices, please complete a Practitioner Attachment form for each unique location.
- If you prefer to mail the application, complete the “Fill and Print” form and mail to the Health Insurance BC address listed at the bottom of the form.
Need technical support?
Health Insurance BC (HIBC) administers the BCP and processes the applications on behalf of MSP. For technical support, including application submission, and registration confirmation, please contact HIBC.
HIBC contact:
- Vancouver: 604 456-6950
- Elsewhere in BC: 1 866 456-6950
Cancel or change details for a facility
If there are any changes to the information after the BCP facility number application form has been submitted, the Facility Administrator must submit the “Application to Cancel or Change Details for Facilities with an MSP Facility Number”.
FAQs
Eligibility and ownership
- Who or what is eligible for BCP?
No, eligible locations include the city of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, the greater Victoria area, and other communities not eligible for the RRP. RRP physicians may be eligible for the Rural Business Cost Modifier.
- What qualifies as ownership costs?
Examples of ownership costs include mortgage, utilities, property taxes, etc.
- Is a home office eligible for the BCP?
A home office is eligible for BCP, as long the eligibility criteria are met, and you see patients in person and not only by telehealth.
- Are walk-in clinics eligible for the BCP?
Yes, if the walk-in clinic is in an eligible geographical location, and you are an eligible physician paying towards the lease, rent, or ownership costs of the clinic.
There are multiple physicians working in a group clinic, with some paying towards business expenses and others who are not. How does that work?
Only the physicians who pay towards the rent, lease, or ownership costs of an eligible office would qualify for the BCP.
- I work in a clinic but do not own it, do I qualify?
Yes, if it is an eligible clinic and you pay towards the lease, rent, or ownership costs.
BCP information for locums
- I am working as a locum, do I qualify?
Yes, if you work in a clinic that qualifies and part of your agreement is to cover some of the lease, rent, or ownership costs. The payment will be paid to the Payee number you have assigned on the Assignment of Payment form. The payment should be distributed between the host physician/clinic and locum, as per your agreement.
- If I provide locum services in two different clinics on the same day, how will the BCP be paid?
The BCP may be paid on multiple facility numbers. The BCP daily maximum though is based on an individual practitioner. The BCP will be paid to a practitioner maximum on whichever eligible claims are received first, regardless of facility or payee number. If the maximum is reached on the first clinic’s claims, then no BCP is paid to the second clinic. However, if the maximum is not reached for the first clinic, the remaining amount will be paid to the second clinic.
- Many locums complete an Assignment of Payment (AOP) form with a one-year time range, so that they don’t need to complete a new AOP each time they provide locum services at that clinic. Are precise dates required for the BCP form, or can locums do the same without impacting billing?
No, precise dates are not needed for locums, they can put in the same dates as their AOP. If circumstances change and the physician cancels their AOP, they should update their registration on the APPLICATION TO CANCEL OR CHANGE DETAILS FOR FACILITIES WITH AN MSP FACILITY NUMBER form.
- When working as a locum, can I apply online for the BCP and Assignment of Payment at the same time?
Not currently. These are two separate forms. Practitioner attachment for the BCP can be completed online using a new electronic form, while the existing Assignment of Payment form must be submitted by Canada Post or fax.
Registering and applying for the BCP
- I received an error message saying the information on my application does not match MSP records. What does this mean?
This most likely means you have entered your Payee number in the MSP Practitioner Number field instead of your personal MSP Practitioner number.
- The Application for MSP Facility Number asks for the Facility Effective Date. What is this?
This is the date the clinic/office originally opened at its current location. If you don’t know this date, please use April 1, 2020.
- Who do I call if I experience technical difficulties with an application form?
You can call the HIBC Practitioner number for technical assistance with a form:
- Vancouver: (604) 456-6950
- Elsewhere in BC: 1-866-456-6950
- What if I practice at more than one office?
If you practice at more than one eligible office (e.g. two offices) and pay towards the lease, rent, or ownership costs at both places, then you would be eligible for the BCP whenever you provide eligible services at either location. You must complete the Practitioner attachment for each unique eligible office.
- What if I no longer work at an office where I am attached to a BCP Facility Number?
To change physician attachment details, the Facility Administrator must submit the “Application to Cancel or Change Details for Facilities with an MSP Facility Number” form to HIBC.
Premium: How will the BCP be paid?
- Where will my payment notification show up?
It will show up as a Level 1 adjustment on your remittance statement.
- Can facility owners retain the entirety of the BCP?
The BCP is an MSP payment, and the sharing between physicians and clinic owners should be based on your current agreement regarding overhead costs, unless you agree to an alternative arrangement. The PMA clearly states that the BCP is for physicians, and therefore clinic owners cannot automatically retain the entirety of the BCP.
- Is the daily maximum per physician per location?
No, the daily maximum is per physician per day across all locations or facilities.
Additional BCP questions: EMR and claims submission
- What information is required on my billing claim to receive the BCP?
BCP Facility Number
- Service Location Code – please note: these have changed effective April 1, 2021
Any of the following Service Location Codes are acceptable: - (B) Community Health Centre
- (D) Diagnostic Facility
- (F) Private Medical/Surgical Facility
- K) Hybrid Primary Care Practice
- (J) First Nations Primary Health Care Clinic
- (L) Longitudinal Primary Care Practice
- (M) Mental Health Centre
- (Q) Specialist Physician Office
- (T) Practitioner's Office - In Publicly Administered Facility
- (U) Urgent and Primary Care Centre
- (V) Virtual Care Clinic
- (W) Walk-In Clinic
- Service Location Code – please note: these have changed effective April 1, 2021
- What if I submit a procedure fee with the BCP facility number on my billing claim in error? Or, what if I submit all my claims that are a mix of eligible and non-eligible fees with a BCP facility number?
The claims system will be programmed to only apply the BCP to the eligible fee items submitted by eligible physicians. If you submit a non-BCP fee item, the system will process your claims in the usual manner and will not apply the premium.
- What happens if I submit a claim with a facility number and I have not registered my practitioner attachment to the facility?
The claim will be refused, with an explanation that the practitioner has not been attached to the facility number.
- Need more support with BCP?
Health Insurance BC (HIBC) administers the BCP and processes the applications on behalf of MSP. For technical support, including application submission, and registration confirmation, please contact HIBC at the phone numbers listed below. HIBC has dedicated support for the BCP, so please follow the prompts for the “Business Cost Premium” when phoning.
Vancouver: 604 456-6950
Elsewhere in BC: 1 866 456-6950