ESMAIL, HILL: Alberta should embrace larger role for private health-care providers

Contents of the article

In recent weeks, defenders of the health care status quo have raised concerns about the Alberta government's health care reforms, including the possibility of a greater role for the private sector in the health care system.

Contents of the article

It is obvious that opponents of reform want to maintain the status quo and increase spending. But in reality, private providers are necessary for Albertans to access the health care system they already pay for through taxes.

Contents of the article

Recommended Videos

Contents of the article

Dear system

And Albertans are paying dearly. Alberta's health care system is the second most expensive in Canada (per person, after adjusting for age and gender), and Canada's health care system is the third most expensive universal system in the developed world. In other words, Alberta is a province with relatively high health care costs in a country with relatively high health care costs. Yet despite these high costs, wait times in Alberta are longer than the national average, and Canadians endure some of the longest waits for health care in the developed world.

Contents of the article

Contents of the article

So if we are already spending far more than others to get far worse access to healthcare, increasing those costs will not solve Alberta's problems. Fortunately, it appears that the provincial government has finally woken up to this reality.

The Smith Government believes it will soon move away from the outdated lump sum approach to hospital funding and will pay hospitals for the services they actually provide. Essentially, this means that money will accompany patients to hospitals and surgical clinics that compete for patients. By making patients a source of revenue for hospitals rather than a cost, this reform will help improve access to health care in Alberta. This policy has long been proven effective in countries with universal health care, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and many others.

Contents of the article

It is important to note that these countries, which have more successful universal health care systems than Canada, also use the private sector as a partner in the delivery of publicly funded care.

In Switzerland, for example, Swiss citizens have some of the most timely access to health care in the developed world at similar cost levels to Canada. Nearly two-thirds of hospitals are private and for-profit, providing about half of all hospital admissions and hospital beds in the country.

In Australia, for less money than we spend, Australians get more timely access to far more doctors, hospital beds and medical technology than Canadians. Private hospitals provide more than 40% of all inpatient care and more than 70% of non-emergency surgical care.

Contents of the article

The same story is observed in Germany and the Netherlands. Both countries top international rankings for timely access to health care (along with Switzerland). And in both countries, private for-profit hospitals play a significant role, making up 43% and 64% of hospitals respectively.

Missed Opportunities

Despite what opponents of reform say, Alberta's problem is not the risk of negative impacts of privatization on the system, but rather the risk that a misinformed opposition could dissuade the provincial government from further reforms based on proven approaches that would benefit Alberta patients.

While defenders of the status quo argue that governments should increase spending while “shielding the system” from the private sector, the experience of more efficient countries with universal health care proves that the problem in Alberta is not money, but how it is spent, and a lack of private sector participation and innovation.

Albertans are already paying for a world-class healthcare system. But for Albertans to truly get a world-class system in return, the government must strengthen the role of private providers and entrepreneurs in health care.

Nadeem Esmail and Tegan Hill are policy analysts at the Fraser Institute.

Contents of the article