Experts warn Alberta’s dual practice health bill may weaken public care, citing poor planning, lack of safeguards, and risks to already scarce physician supply.
Alberta’s New Private Care Plan Faces Expert Pushback
Legislation Unveiled in Edmonton
Alberta’s government has introduced Bill 11, a proposal that would open the door to expanded private health care by allowing physicians to work in both the public system and in a new paid, private stream. The legislation, tabled Monday, is designed to create a dual practice model that officials say will reduce surgical wait times and give patients more choice.
How Dual Practice Would Function
If approved, the bill would permit Albertans to pay for specific procedures — such as hip and knee replacements — inside the province. The government argues this shift will relieve pressure on public queues; however, emergency services, cancer treatment, and family medicine would remain entirely public.
Officials cite countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom as examples where similar systems coexist successfully.
Medical Community Says Planning Is Incomplete
Several health experts say the plan lacks crucial detail and risks destabilizing the province’s public care network. The Alberta Medical Association (AMA), which represents physicians across the province, says the government did not consult them before the bill was drafted.
“Reform needs to be guided by evidence and by specialists who understand the system,” AMA president Dr. Brian Wirzba said, warning that jurisdictions that attempted similar changes often encountered problems.
Concerns Over Doctor Shortages
Retired gastroenterologist and former University of Calgary medical dean Dr. Jon Meddings says the idea of private-pay options is not inherently flawed — but Alberta doesn’t have the physician capacity to safely operate two parallel systems.
He fears specialists, including anesthesiologists already in short supply, would be drawn to the private sector, leaving public hospitals struggling even more.
“All the comparisons being used involve countries with substantially more doctors per capita than Alberta,” Meddings noted. “We simply don’t have the workforce to run both.”
Government Promises Guardrails
The province says it intends to implement safeguards to prevent the public system from being weakened. These could include limits on how many procedures doctors can perform privately or restricting private surgeries to off-peak hours.
Any future changes — including which doctors can participate — would be made through ministerial order, a mechanism that avoids legislative debate. Officials say they consulted stakeholders confidentially before tabling the bill and will now expand consultations with the AMA, AHS, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, and chartered surgical facilities.
Legal Scholars Flag Weak Oversight
University of Calgary health-law expert Lorian Hardcastle argues that relying on ministerial orders creates instability, because critical protections for the public system could be amended without legislative scrutiny.
“If these safeguards are meant to preserve equitable access, they need to be embedded in the law itself,” she said. “They shouldn’t be changeable at the stroke of a pen.”
Calls to Expand Medical Training
Meddings says a long-term fix requires addressing Alberta’s chronic shortage of medical professionals. He argues the province should remove caps on medical school seats and allow institutions to train more students.
“The reason we don’t have enough physicians is because we don’t train enough,” he said. “If private enterprise is the goal, why not allow medical schools to accept as many qualified students as are willing to pay?”
