The Alberta 2023 election results have been officially released and the United Conservative Party (UCP) once again holds the majority of seats in the legislature. But this time with the narrowest majority of any Alberta government. Health care and affordability were the top issues identified by Albertan voters in the lead-up to the election, so let us consider what a UCP majority means for the health of Albertans.
Regarding primary care in the province, the most notable promise Danielle Smith made during the election campaign was no Albertan will have to pay to see their family doctor. That is to say, a plan to maintain the status quo. But where is the vision when Alberta is suffering from a primary care crisis? Family doctors are struggling to keep their practices open, too many Albertans have no family doctor, and others have difficulty accessing care in a timely manner.
We need to see a firm commitment from this government to resurrect and strengthen Alberta’s primary care system. It is time to make the long-overdue Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System final report public and commit to implementing an action plan that will make a real difference to the everyday care Albertans receive. We need to see bold action, innovative system change and robust financial commitments.
The UCP election platform underscored a commitment to provide Albertans with a world-class health care system that is publicly-funded. Yet this year, the federal government has clawed back $13.8 million dollars from Alberta for allowing private healthcare providers to charge patients for medically necessary services.
In its last term, the UCP government charged ahead with privatizing laboratory services and contracting out surgeries to private third-party providers. The results of these experiments in privatization have been lackluster at best, and downright harmful to patients at their worst. Wait times in Calgary for laboratory testing increased to up to five weeks and even the previous provincial health minister, Jason Copping, had to admit that the delays were related to transitioning to the private company DynaLife.
A switch from a not-for-profit to a for-profit model creates incentives for the provider to reduce staffing and hours to keep expenses to a minimum but the UCP government needs to hold private laboratories to their contractual obligations, and put in performance measures and accountability requirements. Albertans deserve safe and timely care and value for their money.
Privatizing surgeries has not improved wait times for Albertans. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported fewer Albertans are getting hip and knee replacement surgeries within the recommended time frames. The report also underscores while cataract surgery wait times have decreased, life-saving surgery for patients with lung, breast and prostate cancers have increased.
Privatization takes away resources, both financial and human, from the public system. It creates incentives for third-party providers to cut corners to make a profit and to upsell unnecessary services to patients. Albertans need their government to honour the Canada Health Act and make sure that no medically necessary services provided by a medical doctor or hospital is charged to patients.
The government needs to strengthen infrastructure within publicly-funded hospitals to continue to provide high-quality care to Albertans when and where they need it. They need to train, recruit and retain health care professionals within the public system and create work conditions for frontline workers that allow them to do their best work in a well-supported environment.
The election promise of creating 700 more addiction treatment beds in 11 locations, including four First Nations communities, is a welcome addition for helping people suffering from substance use disorders and Albertans should hold Premier Smith to her word. But the UCP leader also announced that if elected, her government would pass the Compassion Intervention Act that would allow family members, doctors or police officers to petition to family court for a treatment order to force people into treatment against their will.
Albertans need to challenge the intentions of their premier. Her proposed act is modelled on Section 35, a piece of legislation allowing involuntary drug treatment, introduced in Massachusetts in 2011. Data from the state show a high rate of relapse after release from mandatory treatment and a doubling of the risk of fatal overdose after introduction of Section 35.
We must insist our government supports evidence-based life-saving treatments and harm reduction measures to help people with substance use disorders. Opioid agonist treatment, safe injection sites and a safe supply of drugs all need to be part of the spectrum of services to keep opioid users in Alberta alive.
Health care is the biggest component of the provincial budget and is as important an issue to Albertans now as during election campaigning. All eyes will be on new health minister Adriana LaGrange as she takes on her new portfolio. We expect her to make life-saving and life-changing decisions in her new cabinet role while respecting the freedoms and rights of all citizens. Albertans deserve no less.
Vamini Selvanandan is a family physician and public health practitioner in the Bow Valley. Her commentaries appear in the Rocky Mountain Outlook on the third Thursday of each month. For more articles like this, visit www.engagedcitizen.ca.
