Health in Translation exists to put patients at the centre of care by turning complex medical evidence into accessible, understandable information. We empower medical students to practice knowledge translation and engage with patient stories.
Contact: [email protected]
Health in Translation exists to put patients at the centre of care by turning complex medical evidence into accessible, understandable information. We empower medical students to practice knowledge translation and engage with patient stories.
Contact: [email protected]
Premier Danielle Smith
Office of the Premier
307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2B6
CC: The Alberta Medical Association
Dear Premier,
We, the Calgary Medical Students’ Association and the University of Alberta’s Medical Students’ Association, are writing to express our deep concern over announcements that your government will seek to expand private-pay options and bolster a parallel private healthcare system in Alberta. We stand with the Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Doctors for Medicare, and Friends of Medicare in asking you to reconsider this proposal. A two-tiered healthcare system will create severe inequities for those who cannot pay for access.
One of the five pillars of Canadian healthcare is accessibility — meaning every person deserves the same level of care regardless of socioeconomic status, complexity of medical needs, or ability to pay. This proposed system would pre-discriminate, allowing those with higher income or better insurance to move ahead of others. The most vulnerable — the elderly, unhoused, and critically ill children — are left without the care they need in a two-tiered system.
Longer waits for marginalized groups lead to more expensive healthcare overall. Kidney stones become larger and harder to treat, joints become more complex to replace, and expensive emergency room visits rise. These costs burden taxpayers. Meanwhile, the private tier introduces new co-pays, premiums, and interest charges.
Alberta is facing a significant health-human resource crisis. We need every healthcare worker we can train and recruit. Splitting our already limited workforce across public and private tiers only worsens shortages. In Quebec, after introducing a private system, the public system lost over 500 family physicians, with remaining doctors stretched thin. Quebec now accounts for over 70% of unfilled residency seats in Canada. This is not a future Alberta can afford.
As the next generation of physicians, we urge the UCP government to consider the long-term consequences for your constituents — many of whom will not have the means to access private medicine. We ask that you halt the expansion of private pay and instead strengthen our public healthcare system. A two-tiered system is not one we want to graduate into or practice in.
Sincerely,
Alberta’s Medical Students
The Calgary Medical Students’ Association
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The University of Alberta’s Medical Students’ Association
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