Friends of Medicare is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition working to defend, strengthen & expand public health care in Alberta and beyond. Join the fight! friendsofmedicare.org/join
Despite underspending on health care, Alberta ALREADY has among the highest per person private spending in the country—& growing! Yet the Premier expects us to believe that MORE privatization is the solution?? If it were, it would have worked by now🤷 Read from @policyalternatives.ca
Public versus private health care spending in Canada | CCPACanada already sees a higher portion of private health care spending than a lot of countries, and it needs to changewww.policyalternatives.caNew analysis from @policyalternatives.ca! "Albertans who can afford expensive private health insurance premiums or pay thousands of dollars out of pocket, will receive their treatment faster. This is U.S.-style, two-tier health care plain & simple"
CCPA — Canadian Centre for Policy AlternativesNew legislative changes are formalizing Alberta's private-pay testing scheme that allows the wealthy to jump the line by @policyalternatives.ca senior researcher @alonghurst.bsky.social: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
“The majority of Canadians believe that everyone deserves timely access to quality public health care ... Yet Alberta’s government seems intent on ignoring those voices, while doubling-down on failed privatization, bolstering a private insurance industry & constructing more barriers to access": FOM
Alberta allowing patients to self-refer, pay out of pocket for preventative health testingThe changes were announced in the spring and allow patients to pay for some tests and be reimbursed if the results show cancer to be found.edmontonjournal.com“The premier ran last election on a ‘Public Health Guarantee,’ repeatedly promising that ... no Albertans would have to pay out of pocket to access care. Yet here we are. What a betrayal of Albertans who took the premier at her word in the last election”: FOM's Chris Gallaway.
Alberta allowing self-referrals for privately paid MRI, CT and other imaging testsThe Alberta government announced Monday that Albertans will be able to obtain MRI, CT, ultrasound and X-ray examinations without first getting a referral from a doctor or other health-care provider.www.ctvnews.caNew rules permit Albertans to "purchase diagnostic screening tests including MRIs, CT scans, x-rays & ultrasounds, without a doctor’s referral." AKA: Legislated queue-jumping for the wealthy. This doesn't add capacity, it just changes who's at the front of the line. Read FOM's response on Friday👇
Friends of MedicareWhile Canada’s Premiers met this week, Alberta quietly reclassified all preventive testing as non-insured extended health services. Laying groundwork to delist health services from public coverage? Yet another step towards two-tier health care. www.friendsofmedicare.org/oic_step_tow...
We can't keep scapegoating. The reality is: our health care issues are the direct result of policy priorities! During this time period, Alberta's government has funnelled record public dollars into private profits while evidence is ignored and patient care neglected.
ParksyAB: Here is the EIP data (for ALL major EDs in the province) Indexed to Population growth. Obviously increased pop plays a role... but workforce, hospital and LTC capacity, complexity, technology, and GOVT POLICY make a massive impact. UCP GOVT POLICY has only made this worse! 1/2
"Chris Gallaway, Executive Director of FOM, came from Alberta to deliver his message to the premiers. 'By pushing forward with implementing Bill 11 our provincial government in Alberta is rapidly bringing two-tier American-style health care into Canada.'" nbmediacoop.org/2026/07/23/h...
Health coalitions call on premiers to protect public health care in the face of two-tier threatPublic health care advocates braved the wind and rain to rally outside the premiers' Council of the Federation meeting onnbmediacoop.org
“The Premier ran last election on a ‘Public Health Guarantee,’ repeatedly promising that her govt wouldn’t delist any med procedures from public funding & that no ABs would have to pay … to access care. Yet here we are. What a betrayal of ABs who took the Premier at her word in the last election.”
Friends of MedicareWhile Canada’s Premiers met this week, Alberta quietly reclassified all preventive testing as non-insured extended health services. Laying groundwork to delist health services from public coverage? Yet another step towards two-tier health care. www.friendsofmedicare.org/oic_step_tow...
“By September, Albertans will face a system of legislated queue-jumping for surgeries, in direct contravention of the Canada Health Act. The urgency of addressing this threat to our universal Medicare cannot be overstated,” FOM's Chris Gallaway said. medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n...
Canadian health organizations rally at premiers' meeting in PEI - Medicine Hat Newsnewsdesk@medicinehatnews.com With the premiers’ Council of the Federation meeting in Charlottetown this week, a group of Canadian health advocacy organizations are renewing their call on Canadian lead...medicinehatnews.com
Today, @cfnu.bsky.social released a paper by me & Nate Little. It was shared with the premiers in Charlottetown. The provinces face a health care funding cliff. The feds need to ensure stable CHT of at least 5% annual growth to protect heath care access across the country. @policyalternatives.ca
Canada's NursesLooming changes to the Canada Health Transfer will result in billions of dollars less in health care funding. With an avg. growth rate of 3.8% annually, the cumulative CHT will be $51.8B less over 10 yrs than if the escalator remained at 5% annual growth. Read more: nursesunions.ca/research/the...
Totally, we need our federal representatives to treat public health care as the nation-building project it is! Send a message: www.friendsofmedicare.org/enforcethecha
Take Action: Tell the Feds to enforce the Canada Health Act!Send a message: We urgently need action from the Federal Government to safeguard our public health care and protect patients by speaking out against the Alberta government’s Bill 11 and enforcing the ...www.friendsofmedicare.org
A stronger Canada starts with a stronger health workforce. Public health care is a critical part of Canada’s economy. Investing in health care is investing in Canada’s future — strengthening #AccessToCare, supporting the health workforce and building healthier communities. https://bit.ly/4wVqeqj
“We’re seeing more & more action in provinces outside Alberta saying this is about all of us. It’s not just about Alberta doing something quirky or weird or different. It actually has implications for the whole country when it comes to medicare,” FOM's Chris Gallaway said from Charlottetown.
Groups across Canada call on premiers to protect public health care - Red Deer AdvocateHealth care advocates from across Canada stood shoulder to shoulder in Prince Edward Island, where premiers met on Wednesday, to demand that premiers stop the spread of American-style health care […]reddeeradvocate.comAB cannot be allowed to break the Canada Health Act! “No other province allows what Alberta is calling dual practice where physicians can work in both systems simultaneously, & no other province is pursuing private health insurance for medically covered health care,” said FOM's Chris Gallaway.
Feds should increase federal health funding, but with strings attached: Friends of Medicare | Globalnews.caFriends of Medicare is urging the federal government to increase health care funding and impose more conditions on what the provinces can do with that money.globalnews.caBut we've fought back to defend our public health care before — and we're going to do it again, rain or shine🌧️☀️ Fortunately, we've got allies all across Canada who have our backs!✊ 📢 Ready to join the fight?? Take action: www.friendsofmedicare.org/actions
Actions at Friends of Medicarewww.friendsofmedicare.orgAlberta's government is at the forefront of these attacks, plowing ahead with unprecedented efforts to entrench two-tier, American-style health care — A system where the wealthy pay for faster access, while the rest of us wait longer or go without. www.friendsofmedicare.org/bill11explai...
Bill 11: ExplainedWhat's Bill 11? Your explainer on Alberta’s new two tier, American-style health care legislation from @FriendsofMedicarewww.friendsofmedicare.org