EDMONTON — Friends of Medicare is raising alarms after leaked documents showed the Alberta government is considering legislation that would let doctors work in both the public and private systems at the same time.
The draft plan would allow physicians to charge patients directly for services normally covered under medicare while also billing the public system. Alberta currently requires doctors to opt out entirely if they want to charge privately. Friends of Medicare says the proposed change would make Alberta the only province to allow simultaneous participation in both systems.
Executive director Chris Gallaway says the plan amounts to a roadmap for two tier health care and warns it could violate the Canada Health Act. He says the documents suggest doctors would be permitted to set their own fees and decide case by case which services to offer privately without disclosing their criteria to the government.
Gallaway says Alberta’s system is already strained and argues the province has repeatedly expanded privatization in labs, surgeries and seniors care without improving wait times or staffing. He says the leaked proposal would deepen those problems by diverting public dollars toward private profit.
The documents surfaced as the Auditor General and the RCMP continue investigations into allegations of government interference in private surgical contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Another Auditor General report on the province’s failed lab contract with Dynalife is expected tomorrow.
Friends of Medicare is urging the government to abandon the proposal and focus on rebuilding public capacity, recruiting staff and strengthening front line care rather than creating what it describes as an American style model that rewards those who can afford to pay.
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