Social Policy in Ontario

What Alberta is doing with its health care is a threat to every Canadian

Posted on February 9, 2026 in Health Debates

Source: TheStar.com — Authors: Melanie Bechard

TheStar.com – Opinion/Contributors
Feb. 9, 2026.   By Melanie Bechard, Contributor

It’s no secret that our health care system is on life support. As a pediatric emergency physician, I am constantly frustrated by how difficult it can be for patients to access care. Between torturous emergency department wait times and the almost 6 million Canadians without a family physician, it’s no wonder that health care administrators and political leaders are desperate for solutions.

Alberta’s public-private model threatens health care all over the country

Alberta’s recently passed Health Statutes Amendment Act is a big swing that is guaranteed to make matters worse — and all Canadians should take note lest their province follows suit.

The Health Statutes Amendment Act will allow physicians to practice in both the public and private system for medically necessary care — meaning that they can both bill the provincial health care plan for some patients and charge other patients out-of-pocket or through private insurance. This system, called dual practice, is currently not permitted anywhere in Canada.

Instead, in every province except Ontario, physicians must choose to either enrol in their province’s publicly funded plan or opt-out entirely and only charge patients privately. Physicians cannot work in dual practice as they are not permitted to toggle between charging some patients privately and billing the public payer for others.

The new dual practice legislation in Alberta will create a two-tiered multi-payer system. Dual practice does not address the real problems in health care because it does not involve adding more health care professionals to the system or enable more organized, efficient care.

Instead, physicians will be incentivized to spend more of their time treating lucrative private-pay patients. Alberta’s plan does not shorten any wait-lists — it rearranges them by placing those with deeper wallets at the top. This means patients who are not willing or not able to pay out-of-pocket will face wait-lists that are even longer.

Studies from around the world tell us that private-pay health care is not the answer to wait times. In Australia, creating a parallel private-pay system resulted in longer wait times for those who can’t pay privately. An analysis of several OECD nations concluded that parallel private-pay systems are not effective at reducing wait times. Parallel private systems essentially drain time and resources from the already struggling public system.

Allowing for private-pay health care would open the door to private insurance companies offering coverage for medically necessary care. Like many Canadians, I hear horror stories of American patients and physicians spending hours arguing with insurance companies to try and receive reimbursement. I worry both about the administrative burden that this would add to our already overworked health care providers and the possibility of patients being left holding a five- or six-figure bill.

Political leaders are struggling to solve the challenging, complex and pervasive problems in health care. But trying to solve these problems through private-pay is like trying to douse a flame with gasoline. That’s not to say that I support the status quo; my heart breaks every time I meet a young patient who waited more than 10 hours just to see me because they have nowhere else to go.

Instead, we need to adopt actual solutions that address the root cause behind our lack of access to care. Better organizing care delivery through centralized intake systems, a robust primary care system that supports team-based primary care, expanding Pharmacare, and strategic public investment into health care are proven strategies to aid ailing health care systems.

These are bold moves that require political courage. Our elected representatives do respond to public pressure — otherwise they won’t be elected representatives for long.

We should all reach out to our provincial, territorial, and federal representatives to tell them definitively that we do not want the two-tiered health care system that’s unfolding in Alberta. All Canadians, especially Albertans, should say loud and clear that we want our federal government to enforce the Canada Health Act to protect Canadians from needing to pay out-of-pocket for care.

Dr. Melanie Bechard is a pediatric emergency physician in Ottawa and the chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/what-alberta-is-doing-with-its-health-care-is-a-threat-to-every-canadian/article_8f24533f-f035-4176-be95-7449e2376e5c.html

Tags: featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization

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