Cuts aren’t fun but we can’t afford nice things right now

By Letter to the Editor on November 2, 2020.

Dear editor,

There are some very difficult decisions that need to be made in regard to budget cuts of our health-care system and all other levels of government business.

Our province is going broke and no one wants the cuts to come from the portion of the health-care system that affects them or their families. I get that. I am not a supporter of the UPC policy (big business first), however I can appreciate the difficult time they are having trying to triage the cuts (they should have started with the “War Room” and the size of our bloated cabinet.)

Alberta women have always had access to services that assisted them with the birth of a healthy baby. If your pregnancy is problematic, specialists are there to do the best job they can in order to ensure your health and your baby’s health. Special support programs (paid for by AHC dollars), to nurture new mothers through these special/blessed times are wonderful, but they aren’t necessary.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if AHC had all the money in the world to deal with every special interest group? Then pregnancy support groups and/or supplying cancer medications would never come to conflict.

Every individual who has balanced a household budget knows you simply cannot have everything in the store. When you lose your income, you have to roll with the punches; you have to cut back. We need a good dose of some old fashioned, common sense. We cannot afford all the elitist and special programs, we once appreciated. We are broke. However, we can be there for one another with things like pregnancy support groups.

Our hands appear to be tied in regard to these triage decisions. My/your/our friends will do without cancer (non- urgent) medications because your government has made up its mind. There is something wrong. The plan to make cuts has to come from those who may not want to lose their funding. It will take an honest and discerning eye.

Vicki Thome

Medicine Hat

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