EDMONTON — This afternoon, the UCP government tabled Bill 29, Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2026. If passed, this legislation will implement a promise the government previously announced in October, permitting Albertans to pay privately for diagnostic services without a referral.
“This bill is now the third Health Statutes Amendment Act brought forward by the government in less than a year, and in every case, they are rushing to overhaul legislation so that the profits of private health care corporations are prioritized over of the care needs of Albertans,” said Chris Gallaway executive director of Friends of Medicare. “Instead of improving access to care providers—something Albertans actually urgently need—they're expediting access exclusively for those who have the funds to pay for it. Today's bill is nothing more than legislated queue jumping that further entrenches the government’s plan to bring in two-tier American style health care in Alberta.”
The existing privatization of diagnostic services such as MRI and CT imaging has already put significant pressure on publicly delivered services, contributing to lengthening Alberta’s current wait times. A 2021 Auditor General report made recommendations to improve diagnostic services by utilizing unused public capacity and organizing access more effectively, but those have ultimately been ignored by two successive UCP governments, which have instead opted to double down on privatization.
“Every time this government announces another new privatization scheme, they claim it will save money, increase capacity and shorten wait times,” said Gallaway. ”But Albertans have seen over and over that these schemes never actually pan out as promised, and in reality, reduce public capacity, worsen wait times for patients, and ultimately cost us more. There’s absolutely nothing to suggest this time will be any different.”
Alberta is already failing to ensure that patients aren’t being illegally billed for diagnostic services. As per the most recent Canada Health Act Annual Report, Alberta missed out on more than $13 million dollars in federal health transfers under the Diagnostic Services Policy as a result of patient charges for medically necessary diagnostic services in 2023 and 2024.
“The government didn’t campaign on any of the massive changes they are now implementing, and they didn’t receive a mandate from Albertans to dismantle and privatize our public health care system,” said Gallaway. “Yet, they’ve continuously made moves to charge Albertans more out of pocket to access the health care they need, while pushing full steam ahead to funnel more and more of our valuable public health care dollars into the profits of insurance companies and private health care providers.”
“Albertans deserve better than two-tier health care and legislated queue jumping. We need our federal government to step up and enforce the Canada Health Act, and we deserve a provincial government that is serious about making sure that every Albertan has timely access to the quality care they need, regardless of whether they’re able to pay up front,” concluded Gallaway.
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