Advocacy group warns private pay diagnostics could worsen wait times
EDMONTON— An Alberta health care advocacy group says provincial plans to expand private pay diagnostic testing could increase wait times and add costs for patients.
Premier Danielle Smith and Primary and Preventive Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange announced plans to allow more private screening and testing options, including MRIs, CT scans, full body scans and blood work. The government says the move will improve access.
Friends of Medicare argues the policy amounts to further privatization of health services. Executive director Chris Gallaway says allowing those who can pay out of pocket to access tests outside the public system will not relieve pressure on waits for publicly funded care.
“Every time this government announces another privatization scheme they claim it will save money and increase access,” Gallaway said. “Albertans have seen over and over that these schemes never actually pan out as promised.”
He pointed to disruptions during the province’s previous overhaul of community medical laboratories, which the government later reversed. A 2022 report from the Auditor General recommended improving diagnostic services by expanding unused public capacity, but Gallaway says those recommendations have not been followed.
Albertans are already facing delays for diagnostic care due to staffing shortages and a lack of access to family doctors, Gallaway said. He warned that added out of pocket fees could increase financial pressure on families.
The most recent Canada Health Act report noted Alberta lost more than $13 million in federal health transfers in 2023 and 2024 due to patient charges for medically necessary diagnostic services.
Gallaway said Albertans should receive timely care regardless of ability to pay and called on the province to focus on public system improvements rather than new private billing options.
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