Alberta Tables Bill for Parallel Private-Public Surgery System

Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Adriana LaGrange speaks in Calgary in a file photo. Todd Korol/The Canadian Press

The Alberta government has tabled legislation to enact its newly announced parallel private–public surgery model, saying it will reduce wait lists and help attract more doctors to the province.

Tabled on Nov. 24, Bill 11 would allow surgeons to perform non-urgent procedures in a private system under certain restrictions.

The province said that in developing the model, officials studied systems in other jurisdictions, and that it will be closely monitored after implementation to ensure it works as intended.

“For years, governments across Canada have tried to fix long wait times by spending more money, yet the problem keeps getting worse,” Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement.

“Alberta will not accept the status quo. Dual practice gives us a practical, proven tool that lets surgeons do more without asking taxpayers to pay more. It means shorter waits, better outcomes and a stronger health system for everyone.”

Under the proposed legislation, surgeons must complete a minimum number of hours in the public system before they are allowed to perform procedures privately. The government says private practice could be limited to evenings and weekends or to underused rural sites. Procedures in some specialties may also be restricted to the public system if there is a risk of compromising public care. Private operations won’t be allowed for life-threatening conditions such as cancer and emergency procedures.

The government said physicians practising in both systems will have to maintain separate records to ensure no public funds support private work. The province also said that family doctors will remain in the public-only system.

“Each time a patient chooses to pay for care in a private clinic or a clinic operating on evenings and weekends, for example, resources would be freed up so another patient could receive publicly funded care,” the government said in a statement. “This proposed new model would also support physician attraction and retention.”

The government added that no Albertan will be forced to pay out of pocket for medical care, and that the model complies with the Canada Health Act, which sets the conditions provinces must meet to receive federal health funding.

A spokesperson for federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel previously told The Epoch Times that Ottawa is reviewing Alberta’s proposed model, and that the federal government “will always protect the Canada Health Act and Canada’s universal health care system.”

Alberta NDP has said the new model will create a two-tier health care system, and that Smith should campaign on it in the next election before proceeding with it.

“Bill 11 is all about bringing for-profit American-style health care to Alberta. It means Albertans having to pay out of pocket just to see a doctor or have health procedures done, and it won’t increase access to the care Albertans need,” NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said.

“This is not what Albertans asked for, and it’s certainly not what Danielle Smith promised when she was running for Premier. Albertans deserve a strong, public health care system – and Bill 11 is not it.”

Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Adriana LaGrange rejected the suggestion that the model will lead to an American-style system, adding that the proposed model is being used in European jurisdictions which similarly have universal health care systems.

“We’re not moving towards American, we’re moving towards European-style health care,” LaGrange said.

Carolina Avendano contributed to this report.