Alberta Health Act .ca

Friends of Medicare has a difficult time trying to understand what is the rationale for proposing this Alberta Health Act legislation. The document “A Foundation for Alberta’s Health System” does not provide an explanation as to why over-arching legislation is required. Furthermore, the language of this Foundation document is similar in scope and tone to the 2002 Mazankowski report and the government’s 2005 “Third Way” initiative, both of which were designed to expand private health care in the province.

We very strongly believe that this legislation should be changed only if it is a serious attempt to strengthen the public health system and to redouble restrictions on for-profit delivery. Otherwise, there is little to be gained that could not be accomplished with current legislation working in concert with the Canada Health Act.

1. Increase accountability for Quality. This is an important goal. Friends of Medicare recommends that this should be addressed through an expanded role of the health quality council.
2. Patient centered health. Again, a very good concept, as long as it is pursued in a sincere manner. For example, the government must hold its policy of private health delivery up to the light and make an honest determination as to whether private health is the best choice for the patient.
3. Patient Charter. This label is misleading, since by all indications the government has no intention of introducing an actual charter. What the government is more likely to introduce is broad language about the right to timely access to medical services, along with a list of personal responsibilities Albertans should undertake to improve their health. It is our view that this “patient charter” should not proceed as outlined in the survey. At the very least the responsibilities section should be removed, and the timeliness section should be constrained to acknowledge the limitations of the health system. This “Charter” should not be used a vehicle to expand private health care. The concept has a very poor record in other jurisdictions, and flies in face of the “no-fault” single payer system that lies at the heart of public health system.
4. It is clear the intention of the Alberta Health Act is to merge a number of Acts and to standardize definitions. We are very concerned that this new act will go after legislation that protects Albertans from expanded private insurance, private delivery, and two tier, private health care. It is simplistic and misleading to assert that current legislation is “obsolete and inefficient” when it fact it protects Albertans from expensive and unnecessary two tier private health care.
5. Expansion of for-profit delivery. We suspect this aspect of the report is driving force behind the Alberta Health Act. Investor owned health companies are applying pressure to expand private contracts to deliver all aspects of health care system . We assert mostly strongly that these private contracts result in higher costs, lower quality health outcomes, and adverse conditions for staff. They also hand over resources, buildings and decision making over to a private provider, and make it much more difficult to audit how public funds are being spent.

The government’s health policy has caused chaos and confusion for the past two years. What is emerging is a vision of greatly expanded private for profit health care. It is clear that the Alberta health act is a way to move our public health care system into being a publicly funded health system, with a universe of private contracts actually delivering the services.

The model that should be used to bring this legislation forward is a full discussion paper that outlines the legislation and what are the government’s intentions surrounding the proposal. Most Albertans are simply confused and suspicious of the government’s intentions concerning this legislation, so it is important to lay out a clear, concise process that allows proper debate. The very idea that the government would “consult” for three of four months on a bill that has neither form nor shape is a deeply cynical and confused exercise. We would suggest that the committee delivers its report, the government develops draft legislation, and the public is given its due with a white paper outlining the intentions of the government, with the legislation to move forward (or not) in 2011,
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David Eggen, Executive Director
Friends of Medicare

A number of other organizations have also submitted recommendations on the Alberta Health Act:

- United Nurses of Alberta
- Health Sciences Association of Alberta

The latest edition of The Guardian focuses on the Alberta Health Act. If you would like a copy for yourself or copies for your organization, contact the Friends of Medicare at 780 423-4581 or info@friendsofmedicare.org.

The Friends of Medicare’s David Eggen spoke at an open meeting about the Alberta Health Act in Peace River last week. The Peace River Record Gazette was there to report on the concerns that citizens of Peace River were raising about the new Act.

Over the last week, the Edmonton Journal spoke with a number of Albertans who participated in the Government’s Consultation Meetings. Here are some of their responses to the meetings:

Redwater Mayor Mel Smith:

“To be honest, I’m just not sure how much I did get out of it,” said Smith who considers himself a Progressive Conservative supporter but who for a moment sounded a tad skeptical if not downright cynical: “I’m not sure this wasn’t one of their steps to say that we’ve had consultations and then they’ll do what they like.”

Wilma Morin:

“We all agreed we’d pay more taxes or pay medicare premiums again to keep our public health care, but you have to be cautious about a new law.”

Sam Gunsch:

What problem are they trying to fix? They don’t say… With these vague, nice principles, like patient-focused care, equitable access, well, they’re making a nice icing and then they go away and bake the kind of cake they want after.”

Edmonton MLA Kevin Taft:

“People wanted to ask the question: Do we need a new Alberta Health Act? And there was also a lot of resistance to the patient charter, but all that was overruled. The group was told there will be a patient charter and asked to comment.”

“People there understood the patient charter won’t address the real immediate problems, for instance, the shortage of cancer doctors.”

The Friends of Medicare will be continuing their province-wide series of open public consultation meetings about the Alberta Health Act this week with two meetings in northern Alberta.

June 22: 7:oo PM - 9:00 PM -  Grande Prairie - Rotary Room Montrose Cultural Centre 9899 104 Ave SW

June 23: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM - Peace River - Holy Family Catholic School 10307 99 St

The Edmonton Journal got an exclusive glimpse into the normally closed-door consultations when Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta made their presentations about the Alberta Health Act with the media present.

Since they were opened to the public this week, the Friends of Medicare are beginning to receive a growing number of comments and reactions from regular Albertans who are attending the Government’s Alberta Health Act meetings. Here are some of the comments:

I attended the meeting last night. I asked a number of questions to see why they were trying to put this legislation in place - I didn’t get an answer that I was satisfied with. Personally, I don’t think any Albertans were asking the government to do this - the impetus must have come from someone other than citizens. The government should be listening to the will of the people - if that is the case, there should have been some public outcry to have new legislation put in place - however, as you and I both know, there was no public outcry - there is some hidden force behind this.

…it appears that they are pushing this legislation through without giving Albertans the opportunity to say anything about it. I feel that this process is more of a formality so they could say they consulted Albertans.

There is the illusion that the government wants to know what we think, but the reality is that they will likely disregard our comments and push through their agenda regardless of what we want.

The very tight structuring of the meetings with only set questions being answered troubled me. Although our answers were recorded (written and taped), I am concerned that the response that Fred Horne will write will just continue along preset party lines.

I said again and again that we did not need the Alberta Health Act or the Charter for patients, as these issues are covered in the health acts we have in place, plus the 100 resolutions, and 30 pieces of legislation. I also said quite strongly that this process is simply to take away those pieces of legislation and acts which have been hard won over the past generations. I truly expected to be shot.

The Friends of Medicare has been holding open public consultations on the Alberta Health Act across the province. Here are some photos from recent meetings in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Camrose.

Participate in a consultation in your part of Alberta!

The Parkland Institute has released a new report highlighting the risks and opportunities of the new Alberta Health Act. Read the report.