Good, we now have a guarantee that nobody will have to pay out of pocket for health care in Alberta, courtesy of Premier Danielle Smith..The trouble is, we already had that. What would have helped would have been a guarantee that Albertans can pay for certain procedures if they wish and that the Government of Alberta would be interested In hearing from potential providers among whom it could place competitive contracts..For in practice, we already have a guarantee that nobody will have to pay out of pocket for health care in Alberta..Nobody can..Try it. Walk into an MRI clinic in Edmonton or Calgary, pull out your wallet and ask for a scan. They’ll tell you the law says they can’t help you even though the machine is sitting right there idle, with the operator standing beside it, likewise..Want a knee replacement? Clinics advertise in Spokane that they can help you in 11 weeks or less; the Alberta Health Services wait times are published here. It’s more than a year..It doesn’t have to be this way..In Quebec for example, where the Canada Health Act is honoured selectively, a person needing an MRI has the option of going to a privately-owned imaging facility. Other than needing a prescription, it’s like going to the dentist: You book, you go, you pay. For those willing to wait, there is still a no-charge queue funded by the government..Same for orthopaedic procedures. Since the 2005 Chaoulli decision, in which the eponymous doctor convinced the Supreme Court of Canada that failure to provide timely joint replacements infringed Canadians’ right to security of the person, there are clinics in Quebec where again, you book, go, and pay..Albertans may well wonder why there are no such clinics in Alberta. Actually, the facilities exist and are given some work by AHS. However, the government is the sole payer. The reason we don’t have the same rights as Quebecers is that such was the iconoclastic character of Chaoulli, that the system rallied. It argued essentially that while the Supreme Court decision must be respected, private insurance should only be allowed for services where the waiting list is too long, and so recognized by the provincial health minister..One would suppose that a couple of years would be considered too long, but it would be a brave health minister who made policy on that basis. And he certainly wouldn't do so six weeks before a provincial election..That minefield has yet to be challenged in the courts..People running for office say what they need to say. So, given the fear and innuendo published over the years by the protectionist health-care unions and their NDP running dogs, Premier Smith was sooner or later going to have to utter the words, sprinkle incense in the flame and commit herself to doing in the future what we have done in the past. Unfortunately the system to which she has recommitted herself is serving us worse and worse, as the years go by.
Good, we now have a guarantee that nobody will have to pay out of pocket for health care in Alberta, courtesy of Premier Danielle Smith..The trouble is, we already had that. What would have helped would have been a guarantee that Albertans can pay for certain procedures if they wish and that the Government of Alberta would be interested In hearing from potential providers among whom it could place competitive contracts..For in practice, we already have a guarantee that nobody will have to pay out of pocket for health care in Alberta..Nobody can..Try it. Walk into an MRI clinic in Edmonton or Calgary, pull out your wallet and ask for a scan. They’ll tell you the law says they can’t help you even though the machine is sitting right there idle, with the operator standing beside it, likewise..Want a knee replacement? Clinics advertise in Spokane that they can help you in 11 weeks or less; the Alberta Health Services wait times are published here. It’s more than a year..It doesn’t have to be this way..In Quebec for example, where the Canada Health Act is honoured selectively, a person needing an MRI has the option of going to a privately-owned imaging facility. Other than needing a prescription, it’s like going to the dentist: You book, you go, you pay. For those willing to wait, there is still a no-charge queue funded by the government..Same for orthopaedic procedures. Since the 2005 Chaoulli decision, in which the eponymous doctor convinced the Supreme Court of Canada that failure to provide timely joint replacements infringed Canadians’ right to security of the person, there are clinics in Quebec where again, you book, go, and pay..Albertans may well wonder why there are no such clinics in Alberta. Actually, the facilities exist and are given some work by AHS. However, the government is the sole payer. The reason we don’t have the same rights as Quebecers is that such was the iconoclastic character of Chaoulli, that the system rallied. It argued essentially that while the Supreme Court decision must be respected, private insurance should only be allowed for services where the waiting list is too long, and so recognized by the provincial health minister..One would suppose that a couple of years would be considered too long, but it would be a brave health minister who made policy on that basis. And he certainly wouldn't do so six weeks before a provincial election..That minefield has yet to be challenged in the courts..People running for office say what they need to say. So, given the fear and innuendo published over the years by the protectionist health-care unions and their NDP running dogs, Premier Smith was sooner or later going to have to utter the words, sprinkle incense in the flame and commit herself to doing in the future what we have done in the past. Unfortunately the system to which she has recommitted herself is serving us worse and worse, as the years go by.
