Alberta mulls deep cuts to Alberta Health Service
This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.Alberta is considering significant cuts to its health-care authority that could include privatizing a range of services, including some surgeries, as the government looks to keep its overall health spending flat and balance the provincial budget within two years.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said he accepted most of the recommendations. He said any savings would be reinvested into the health sector and ruled out the closing of rural and underused hospitals after the report’s release on Monday morning. However, he said the government will look at the proposal to allow private companies to perform more routine surgeries and provide care for seniors. Public health care would continue to pay the cost of services from for-profit providers.
The Health Minister said he doesn’t expect the province to see the full $2-billion in possible cuts highlighted by the report, with many of the proposed savings requiring significant initial investments or years of changes to start seeing any benefit. The government has allocated almost no increases to the health budget of about $20.6-billion over the next three years. Only $62-million more in health spending is expected by the 2022-23 fiscal year. The province’s population is growing and aging quickly, meaning there will be fewer health dollars for each Albertan in the coming years.The province is also facing pressure from unions who have seen few pay increases in recent years.
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