Friends of Medicare blasts private screening plans, minister says public needs will still come first

By ZOE MASON on October 24, 2025.

zmason@medicinehatnews.com

The province announced Wednesday plans for a set of new reforms designed to enhance access to private, elective medical screenings and diagnostic services.

The new legislative reforms will expand access to privately purchase medical services like MRIs, CT scans, full-body scans and blood work.

Under the new regulations, if a privately purchased test reveals a significant condition, the cost will be reimbursed by the province.

Friends of Medicare criticized the new measure as failing to address mounting wait times and inviting increased privatization of health care in the province.

“To think that permitting Albertans with unaddressed health needs and money to spare to access potentially unnecessary diagnostic tests will somehow reduce our wait times is completely ludicrous,” said executive director Chris Gallaway in a statement Wednesday.

Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Adriana LaGrange told the News on Thursday that the province is committed to safeguarding the public system as these reforms are implemented

“I’m going to be very clear – we are going to protect the public health guarantee. Any publicly required, medically necessary test that is ordered by a physician or a nurse practitioner, anyone who has the ability to requisition – those are the priority in the system,” she said.

LaGrange says the new initiative is modelled after similar public-private health systems in Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Germany. She says the option to do elective testing will help Albertans detect conditions earlier, which will let them treat them more effectively.

“I want Albertans to have world class health care. They deserve it, and this gets us to being in line with other countries that are already doing it,” she said.

The province says physician-recommended tests will continue to be prioritized in both public and private facilities across the province. It’s unclear whether that will translate to paying patients having their appointments at private clinics delayed to accommodate urgent public cases.

“That’s part of the policy decisions that need to be looked at,” said LaGrange. “It’s why we’re going to engage with health sector professionals, whether it’s the AMA, radiologists or other technicians that would be delivering these services.

“We need to understand what the limitations are, what the possibilities are. How do we look at this, and how do we implement it?”

LaGrange says discussions and engagement related to these reforms are ongoing. The engagement period will span from late October to early 2026. LaGrange says she aims to bring the policy forward during the spring session of the legislature.

Alberta health care continues to come under fire this week for the findings of the Wyant report, which confirmed alleged conflicts of interest relating to procurement and chartered surgical facility contracts.

“Even while government officials are being publicly accused of very serious allegations of corruption and interference in private health care contracts, they’re plowing ahead with further schemes to funnel more of our valuable public health care dollars into private profits,” said Gallaway.

The province previously attempted to expand private access to community medical laboratories which was ultimately reversed. Provincial and federal budget numbers show the cost of the service’s return to the public health system was more than $97 million.

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