Another clinic in Calgary has promised to fast-track access to a family doctor, along with other perks, to patients who pay up to $5,200 a year..Harrison Healthcare, which has clinics in Calgary and Vancouver, is offering a new membership program for uninsured components of care, including non-physician care.."Insured physician visits and after-hours care, prescribed tests and any other publicly insured services will be billed to the provincial health insurance plan by Harrison or by its physicians," Harrison Healthcare stated on its website.."Provincial health insurance plans invariably provide important physician services in the fields of prevention and disease management. Subscription to a Harrison Program is not a precondition to access insured physician services. Fees for uninsured services outside of Harrison programs can be found here.".The following are the fees being charged listed on Harrison Healthcare's website:.Physician consultation (per half hour) $210Nurse Practitioner (NP) consultation (per half hour) $150Registered Nurse (RN) consultation (per half hour) $105Registered Dietitian (RD) consultation (per half hour) $105Exercise Physiologist (EP) consultation (per half hour) $90Mental Health Assessment $750Case coordination $1,250.Within its programs, Harrison Healthcare said it combines the "publicly insured care of expert physicians with a complete team of non-insured professionals, and a host of non-insured tests, assessments and services.". Harrison Healthcare websiteHarrison Healthcare said it combines the "publicly insured care of expert physicians with a complete team of non-insured professionals, and a host of non-insured tests, assessments, and services." ."This hybrid approach to comprehensive healthcare, pioneered by the principals of Harrison, has been proven to be the most effective approach to high quality, prevention-focused healthcare," Harrison Healthcare said on its website.."The cost of many Harrison services may be reimbursable through your health insurance or benefits provider. Most fees are tax deductible. One of the most effective ways of recovering your costs is through a health spending account (HSA).".The clinic noted some corporate extended health plans provide an HSA component.."Certain out-of-country plans may cover the entire cost of your Harrison care. You should check your existing extended health policy to calculate what your out-of-pocket cost will be," Harrison Healthcare said.."Establishing an HSA is a tax-efficient strategy for providing principals and employees with the greatest flexibility in recovering fees from advanced health services like those offered at Harrison.".It also appears the clinic is planning to expand to Edmonton. In an automated email reply to the Western Standard the clinic said it is planning a future Edmonton centre.."We are planning to have a state-of-the-art facility established in your community in the next two years, however, we would accelerate that plan if we have unexpectedly high demand," Harrison Healthcare said in the email..READ MORE: UCP government will investigate all Calgary clinic's billing invoices.Recently, CBC News reported another Calgary clinic promised to do the same thing for patients who pay up to $4,800 a year.."Alberta Health will continue working with providers to ensure all legislation is followed," said Scott Johnston, press secretary for the health ministry, in an interview with the Western Standard.."Alberta’s government remains committed to the principles of the Canada Health Act. Albertans don’t have to pay out of pocket for insured health services such as seeing a family doctor or a hospital visit, that won’t change.".The UCP government said on Monday Albertans don’t have to pay out of pocket for insured health services..Opposition NDP health critic Luanne Metz said the Marda Loop clinic plan appears to be in a "legal grey zone.".“They may skirt the outside of the Canada Health Act by offering appointments one day a week without the membership fee so they can argue that all their insured services are still available,” Metz said..“But this is giving preferred access to those who pay the fee and while that might not clearly break the law, we all know that in real life that simply won’t work for people who need to see their family doctor right away on a regular basis.”.The UCP said increasing access to primary care was a part of Health Minister Adriana LaGrange's mandate letter from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith..“Our goal is to stabilize and strengthen primary health care across the province so everyone has access to a primary health care provider, no matter where they live," Johnston said..The UCP government says, to date, no issues have been identified with the operation of private clinics in the province. A source within the UCP government told the Western Standard on Wednesday no clinics have broken the law in the province..However, it's not only clinics in Alberta that offer this service..READ MORE: Clinics across Canada offer membership services, not just in Alberta.Researchers from Dalhousie University and Simon Fraser University released a paper in 2022 that said “Parallel private payment for primary care services is occurring in at least 83 clinics across six Canadian provinces as identified through this environmental scan.”.“The extent to which these clinics impact patients’ access to care and supply of physicians and other healthcare professionals should be the subject of future research,” reads the research paper..LaGrange sent a letter to the first clinic uncovered by CBC News demanding answers with a deadline of noon on Monday to reply..The Western Standard reached out to LaGrange's office and Harrison Healthcare for comment but has yet to hear back.
