Friends of Medicare are applauding Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman for introducing Bill 22 the Resident and Family Councils Act.

New National Report Outlines the Huge Cost of the Failed Health Accord

As Health Ministers from across Canada meet in Edmonton this week, Canada's Health Coalitions released a report showing the recent bilateral health schemes pushed through by the Trudeau government have come at a huge cost.  The report "Health Accord Breakdown: Costs and Consequences of the Failed 2016/17 Negotiations" calculates that the failure of the Health Accord will mean a health care funding shortfall of $31 billion for the provinces with no concrete targets to improve public health care for Canadians and no plan to bridge the fiscal gap. Calling the rhetoric around health transformation and target funds for home and mental health care "more PR than substance", the coalitions also tallied the non-monetary costs of the lost Health Accord: the grave problems of under capacity in public hospitals, long-term and community care; long-waits; growing inequities and problems with access to care that will continue without any national plan to address them.

Canadian Health Advocates to Premiers: Stand up for Public Health Care

Health care advocates from across the country gathered in Edmonton today at a rally outside the Hotel Macdonald to call on Canada’s Premiers to fight for patients and call for fair federal funding for health care.

Budget 2017 Resists Pressure to Cut Needed Health Services

Major Work Needs to Begin on Expanding and Improving Universal Public Care

Friends of Medicare are pleased to see funding increases of 3.2% which will cover spending pressures in inflation and population growth. Friends of Medicare are also glad to see the government willing to resist wrong headed calls to cutback an already stretched system.

Hinton needs long-term care now

Family members with loved ones in care in Hinton were joined this morning by Public Interest Alberta Executive Director, Joel French, and Friends of Medicare Executive Director, Sandra Azocar, to call on the provincial government to take action to support Hinton residents in need of long-term care. The community had long-term care beds built by the Good Samaritan Society with government support in 2002, but the PC government in 2005 downgraded the beds to supportive living, and the community has been without long-term care ever since.

Alberta and Ottawa Must Reject Sale of Continuing Care to Chinese Investment Company

Sale of Retirement Concepts to Chinese Insurance Company Anbang Would Impact Patients in 2 Calgary Based Supportive Living Centres

Friends of Medicare are calling on governments in Alberta and Ottawa to oppose and reject the sale of Alberta's continuing care in two Calgary supportive living facilities to international investors.

As reported on November 28 in the Globe & Mail multi-billion dollar Chinese based Anbang Insurance Group intends to takeover BC based Retirement Concepts in a bid estimated to be worth over a billion dollars. Retirement Concepts also owns and operates Millrise Place and Monterey Place supportive living facilities in Calgary.

Parkland Report Confirms NDP Falling Short on Long-Term Care Promise

Report finds Alberta's continuing care is 79% privatized with no significant improvement since the election of the NDP Government.

Friends of Medicare are calling on the Alberta Government to recommit to their election promise to create "2,000 public long-term care beds over four years" in light of damning evidence provided in today's Parkland Institute "Losing Ground: Alberta's Residential Elder Care Crisis" report on long-term care in Alberta. Further steps should be reviewed and taken to phase out private continuing care entirely, in keeping with their election promise to "end the PCs' costly experiments in privatization, and redirect the funds to publicly delivered services."

Cold Lake Continuing Care Lockout Another Sign of a Broken System

Friends of Medicare are calling on the Government of Alberta to take steps to fix a broken continuing care system in light of today's news that Points West Living have served notice to lockout their staff in Cold Lake as of September 29.

Expansion of Private For-Profit Care Not to be Applauded

Friends of Medicare are calling on the Alberta government to change the public discourse when it comes to long-term care in Alberta in light of today's announcement highlighting the opening of a private for-profit continuing care centre approved by the previous government.

“Evidence is clear that for-profit facilities provide reduced care hours compared to their counterparts in the public sector. Experience tells us that staff face significant issues with for-profit companies like AgeCare. To top it off the public is kept in the dark with no transparency for the millions in operational funds that are handed over to these health profiteers,” said Executive Director Sandra Azocar.

Accountability and Transparency Needed for Long-Term Care Operators

Friends of Medicare are calling for accountability and transparency for private for-profit operators like Park Place Seniors Living in light of today’s announcement from Alberta Health that they will be opening 99 beds in Edmonton’s Villa Marguerite.