EDMONTON — A new Abacus Data poll commissioned by the Canadian Health Coalition was released this week, showing that Albertans overwhelmingly reject Bill 11, Alberta’s two-tier American-style health care legislation, with 86% of Albertans believing that universal health care based on need, not how much money they have, is a core Canadian value. Of their top concerns with the legislation, 84% report that they worry Bill 11 will raise health care costs for patients, and 83% worry it will worsen wait times. Findings are similar across Canada.
“With Bill 11 set to come into effect in September, these results should serve as a decisive and timely message to the Alberta government to immediately halt their imposition of American-style, two-tier health care,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “Albertans are clear on this: the vast majority of us still believe in equitable access to universal public health care.”
Key findings include:
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92% of Albertans are concerned about the future of our public health care system, with more than half (53%) reporting they are very concerned.
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66% of Albertans believe our health care system is currently in a state of crisis, with 57% reporting it has worsened over the past five years.
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Albertans reported top priority issues include cost of living (67%) and health care (39%), and 88% say they don’t want health care to become another expense.
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69% of Albertans oppose corporations and doctors having the unrestricted ability to charge patients for health care.
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78% of Albertans say public health care can meet our needs with more government investment, and 68% think hiring more doctors and health care workers is a solution.
“Clearly, Albertans understand that this government is taking Alberta’s health care system in the wrong direction, which shows how badly the government has neglected consulting patients, health care workers, and the public at large on such massive changes to our health care,” said Gallaway. “But while for-profit insurance companies have had their say, absolutely no one in Alberta voted for this. Many took the Premier at her word when she ran last election on a ‘Public Health Guarantee.’ But this opinion polling confirms what we’ve heard all over the province: Albertans are looking for solutions to strengthen, not dismantle, our public health care.”
The poll also shows that 78% of Albertans are concerned that Bill 11 could expand, with 74% of Canadians are concerned about Bill 11 spreading to other provinces.
“This is a nation-wide issue. If we open the doors to two-tier, American-style health care now, it won’t stop at Alberta’s borders. And if our provincial government won’t listen to the public or act in our interests, we need to demand a federal response,” concluded Gallaway.
On September 1, Friends of Medicare is joining Health Coalitions and other public health care defenders across the country for a National Day of Action to raise our collective voices in opposition to Bill 11 and two-tier American-style health care. We invite everyone who understands the value of universal, equitable, public health care to join us in 7 communities in Alberta, or 20 other communities across Canada, and to send a message calling for action from their federal representatives.
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