Letter: Time for Alberta’s government to hold up their end of the bargain on health care

By Letter to the Editor on March 7, 2024.

Dear editor,

The urgency remains real for family and rural generalist physicians across the province.

Government provided general funds for physician compensation and development programs. While the budget didn’t include a specific line item for the Primary Care Compensation Model submitted by the AMA earlier this year, Minister LaGrange has money she can use to implement the new funding model expeditiously.

That’s something she promised to do when we spoke immediately following the budget announcement. It’s a promise we need her to fulfill now.

Community practices are hanging on by a thread and their survival depends on stabilization funds flowing and the funding model being operationalized. Government has told us they are fully committed to supporting comprehensive family medicine and attracting family physicians to Alberta.

It’s time to make that happen.

Dr. Paul Parks, president, Alberta Medical Association

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