Alberta Health Act .ca

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.

Bankruptcy of for-profit Calgary clinic portends worse, more costly system

By Diana Gibson,

A version of this was published in the Edmonton Journal on June 3, 2010

In the same month as the Alberta Government launched consultations on a new Alberta Health Act, one of its prodigal private surgery centres, the Health Resources Centre in Calgary, declared bankruptcy. Before consultations have even begun, the Alberta Health Act initiative has been seriously undermined because the Act is all about that style of private for-profit delivery.

The only documents to emerge on the new Act to date are “A Foundation for Alberta’s Health System” and the online survey. These documents are drowning in warm sounding rhetoric about patients, families, quality and access. However, hidden within are terms like flexibility of delivery and personal responsibility which are Trojan Horses. Flexibility of delivery is often code for increasing for-profit health care, and individual responsibility means moving away from universality and public responsibility. It moves away from a focus on public policy solutions to public health challenges like smoking and obesity, to blaming the individual.

Of greater concern is the behind-the-scenes agenda for the Health Act. That agenda is clear in the submission from Alberta Health Services CEO, Steven Duckett, which states the goal as, “Recognize the role of private and non-governmental organizations in service delivery within the Canada health framework.”

Even more telling is the submission from the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, which has been advocating for a long time for this form of legislative change. Specifically it asks for the repeal of the Health Care Protection Act and stripping Alberta Health and Wellness of its role in regulating private surgeries and clinics.

Their submission also advocates for increased direct competition between private for-profit providers and public providers while at the same time allowing private providers to benefit from any economies of scale and other advantages of the public sector through a “levelling of the playing field and co-operation in the distribution of resources.”

The HRC bankruptcy reveals the folly of that approach. Albertans and Canadians should be alarmed and should watch the health act initiative closely.

Certainly there are serious challenges to be dealt with on the delivery side of health care. Hospital stays are becoming much shorter, and community or day-surgery alternatives have been growing. That sector is fragmented and mostly outside of the public health system and protections of the Canada Health Act.

Services such as rehabilitation services that were previously offered in hospitals are being offered in communities and homes, but no longer covered under the public umbrella. Long-term care is being downgraded to assisted living, and the sector is becoming increasingly dominated by for-profit providers.

On the flip side, the province has under-funded hospitals for many years, causing shortages of beds, nurses and physicians and has not adequately funded quality public services for seniors needing long-term care.

The growth of the for-profit involvement in those service areas has come at a cost, Albertans now have the highest out-of-pocket spending on health care in the country.
Not only has this path been costly, but it means lower quality. A number of academic studies have shown that care in for-profit institutions is often lower in quality than in not-for-profit institutions. These include studies by: P. J. Devereaux, et al, 2004 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Comondore et al, 2009, in the British Medical Journal,. Powe et al, 2009, New England Journal of Medicine and John Hopkins, and Woodlander and Himmelstein 2004, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The Alberta government pays a lot of lip service to best evidence. Best evidence shows for-profit providers deliver poorer results at higher cost. It is time to learn from our mistakes and stem the tide. To this end, the Alberta Health Act initiative should not proceed as planned.

Certainly, there are challenges in health care, not only the fragmented delivery system that is increasingly for-profit but also the lack of attention to prevention and the social determinants of health such as poverty and inequality.

The act will not address these problems; the barriers to reform are political not legislative. Without the political will to account for the health impacts of social policies, without the political will to fund adequate public health services, and without the political will to limit the profits of pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and private insurers, legislative changes will not significantly improve health care outcomes or sustainability in Alberta.

The public health system is now paying to bail out the HRC and surgeries are at risk.
Public health care is less expensive and better quality and the Alberta government should turn HRC back into a non-profit hospital and bring it under the public umbrella.

Beyond that, the health-act plans should be shelved and the government should get down to the business of delivering health care that is public, universal and affordable.
There is room for a new health act, but it needs to be one that limits for-profit involvement in health care and strengthens the public system which delivers the most cost effective, most accessible and best quality health care.

Diana Gibson is the research director at the Parkland Institute. This opinion piece is based on a new series of reports by the Institute on the proposed Alberta Health Act.

Friends of Medicare has learned that the Stelmach government is pressing forward with their plans to make sweeping changes to Alberta’s health laws without the benefit of full public hearings.

Instead, Alberta Health and Wellness will host 28 “invitation only” meetings around the province, with attendance at these meetings strictly controlled by the government.

In order to give Albertans the opportunity to have a full and open discussion, Friends of Medicare, supported by the Join Together Alberta campaign, will host a series of eight fully public meetings across the province.

In addition, we are urging concerned Albertans to e-mail the government at yourhealthact@buksa.com or call 1-888-436-0986 and ask to be included in the process. We ask that you also cc us at info@jointogetheralberta.ca to let us know that you’ve made the request and to let us know what the response to your request is. We expect that most, if not all requests to be heard, will be denied. By publicizing the denial we can expose the government’s attempt at “public consultation” for the sham that it is.

This fall, the Stelmach government wants to make major changes to health care law in Alberta.  Considering the Conservatives very poor record on the health care file, this is a cause for serious concern.

The government says the Alberta Health Act will establish several principles to run the system, but it gives no specifics.  Current laws have specific language that protects and maintains a universal public health care system.  Any change that weakens these laws will lead to a parallel, two-tier for-profit health care system that relies on private insurance.

Alberta’s current health laws set specific standards for health care, especially in nursing home care.  Any change that weakens these standards means you and your family could pay more, and end up with a lot less.

The Stelmach government has appointed Edmonton MLA Fred Horne and a committee of representatives to undertake consultation about the new Alberta Health Act this Spring and Summer.  Horne and the committee are scheduled to provide their report by September 30th and the new Alberta Health Act is expected to be brought before the Legislature for the fall 2010 session.

For years now, this government has been pursuing an aggressive policy of private contracts to deliver public services.  This has resulted in extensive privatization in Senior’s care and very difficult situations like the Health Resource Center private hospital Calgary going bankrupt.

Now, the government says that Alberta health law exceeds the requirements of the Canada Health Act and requires “revision”.  This is a definite cause for alarm!

Current Alberta health laws reinforce the Canada Health Act and provide some specific standards for our health system to function.  The Canada Health Act offers guiding principles.  Alberta’s Medicare laws provide specifics.

If the government weakens our provincial laws into vague language with no teeth, Albertans would be left exposed to extra-billing, de-listing of services, private insurance and an explosion of private health care.

“Consultation” moving fast
Announced on April 29, the government’s “consultation” on completely revamping Alberta’s health laws will take place mainly in June.

It is vitally important Albertans participate in this consultation and let government know they are concerned and aware of what is going on with this major change.

The 12 local Health Advisory Councils will host a series of community-based consultations across Alberta to seek input about the forthcoming health legislation.

Website “survey”
The survey is carefully designed to support the government’s plan, but Albertans should fill it out and add their comments.
http://www.health.alberta.ca/initiatives/your-health-act.html
Call the government’s advisory committee have your say.
Call toll-free in Alberta: 310-4455
Email: health.ahinform@gov.ab.ca

For more information or general inquiries regarding the consultation:
Email: yourhealthact@buksa.com
Call: 1-888-436-0986

Friends of Medicare taking action
Watch for more information from Friends of Medicare about the survey and Health Act consultation meetings.
www.friendsofmedicare.org
Or call 780 423-4581