Endgame of health-care privatization complex

By Lethbridge Herald on March 22, 2023.

Much concern has been expressed over UCP plans to increase the private delivery of health care.  

To be fair, our health-care system already comprises a mix of public and private delivery, so it is not simply a matter of increased privatization. 

To appreciate what is happening, and what is at stake, we need to dig deeper. The endgame is more complex and devious than simply shifting some services to the private sector.  What then is the master plan?  

Here is how I fear things will play out: As more services are offered in private, for-profit settings, patients wishing to access those services will face fees.  

As a case in point, the cost for a scan done at the privately-run MRI facility located on the University of Lethbridge campus ranges from $250 to $725.  

Some people will able to pay those fees but for many others, other payment options will be needed. The rubber hits the road here.  

Private clinics will offer repayment options, extending over some period with interest paid as a separate line item or hidden as an “administration fee.” And there is every reason to think that insurance companies will seize the opportunity created by UCP policy to offer new “products.”  Indeed, the MRI facility mentioned above has this statement on their website: “Some health benefit plans offer MRI reimbursement or health spending accounts – check your plan to see if you qualify for reimbursement.”  

This scenario raises some important questions to consider between now and the provincial election in May.

Two come immediately to mind. First, do we want a society where a person’s timely access to health-care services depends on their ability to pay; whether that payment is made up front, or over time, or by paying for additional health-care insurance?  

And second, regarding the last point, when is the last time any of us dealt with an insurance company which was not ultimately concerned with their bottom line and serving the interests of shareholders?  

If we continue the course being chartered by the UPC, we will find ourselves in a situation that fails to serve the vast majority of Albertans, and one that will be nearly impossible to reverse.

Tom Johnston

Lethbridge