April 22, 2022 1:59 PM
EDMONTON
April 22, 2022
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Ophthalmology privatization puts private profits over public good
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The government’s attempts to use the pandemic as political cover to sell off our vital public health care going into high gear.
Today, Health Minister Copping announced that the government would be moving forward with plans to further privatize Alberta’s surgical services, specifically our ophthalmology.
The persistent myth around private health care is that it serves more patients quicker, but the reality is far different. Patients are often upsold and over-referred in place of those who are truly in need. Statistics from prior to the pandemic consistently showed wait times were months longer in Calgary Zone, where over 80 percent of all non-urgent cataract surgeries are done in the private sector, than those performed in the Edmonton area, where the majority are completed in the public sector.
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April 07, 2022 2:36 PM
April 7, 2022
EDMONTON
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Federal Budget Expansion of Dental Coverage Good News for Alberta Children
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More work still needed on universal pharmacare, long-term care standards, paid sick leave, the drug poisoning crisis, and protecting public health care in Alberta
This afternoon the federal government tabled their budget for 2022-2023. It included items laid out in the Confidence and Supply Agreement with the NDP, most notably: adding dental care coverage for all children 12 and under this year.
“Dental care is health care. Yet far too many Albertans have long been forced to forego necessary dental procedures due to cost-related barriers to access, and entrenched economic inequality,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “The dental care commitment in today’s federal budget is good news for Alberta children, and we’re hopeful this will be the first step towards truly universal public dental care for all.”
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