Alberta's healthcare system is facing a critical juncture, according to future doctors who are raising alarm bells about the provincial government's new direction. Medical students Robert Mayall and Jake Thorsteinson express profound concern that recent policy announcements will exacerbate existing problems of long wait times and physician shortages, ultimately making patients pay the price.
The Push Toward Private Healthcare
The authors identify two significant developments driving their concern. First, the province introduced privately paid diagnostic imaging that doesn't require a physician's referral. This policy threatens to lengthen wait times for those relying on public tests and treatments, as the healthcare system will need to investigate every minor abnormality discovered through private scans, regardless of medical necessity.
More significantly, the government passed Bill 11, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, which creates a pathway for a parallel private-pay healthcare system. This legislation allows physicians to either completely opt out of the provincial medicare system or arrange their schedules to accommodate both private and public patients. The medical students view this as a clear agenda toward healthcare privatization that shows no signs of slowing down.
Learning from Other Jurisdictions
Proponents of two-tiered healthcare often point to examples like Quebec and the United Kingdom, but the reality of these systems reveals significant challenges. Following the 2005 Chaoulli Supreme Court decision, Quebec was compelled to introduce private-pay options by allowing doctors to fully opt out of medicare. The number of family physicians opting out has tripled since 2012, now exceeding 550 doctors, contributing to Quebec having the lowest family doctor coverage in Canada.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, any recent successes in reducing wait times have resulted from increased support for the public system rather than expansion of private options. The evidence consistently demonstrates that strengthening public healthcare delivers better results than building parallel private systems.
The Real Costs of Privatization
Beyond financial implications, healthcare privatization carries other significant costs, particularly in physician recruitment and retention. Many current and future physicians choose their profession because they believe in strong, accessible, and inclusive public healthcare. Creating a system where money buys preferential access threatens this fundamental principle and could drive away precisely the medical professionals Alberta needs most.
As the province moves forward with these changes, the warning from its future doctors is clear: patients will bear the consequences of a fragmented system that prioritizes private profit over public good.
