Alberta’s new diagnostic imaging policy will benefit all patients—not just those who’ll pay

According to a new policy from the Smith government, Albertans (and people visiting Alberta) can now pay for an MRI, CT scan, ultrasound or X-ray at a private clinic without a physician referral. The provincial government will reimburse patients if a new cancer diagnosis is discovered by the private scan.

Predictably, opponents argue this policy will only benefit those willing and able to pay, will increase wait lists for those who don’t pay, and portends the end of universal health care in Alberta. Back in reality, this policy will expand the overall volume of services in Alberta and improve access to health care for all Albertans—those who pay and those who’ll benefit from a shorter queue in government facilities.

And relief can’t come soon enough. Albertans endure some of the lowest availability of advanced diagnostic machines in Canada and the developed world, and face remarkably long wait times for MRIs (median wait of approximately seven months) and CT scans (approximately three-and-half months) in the government system. And many of these machines are old and should be replaced. Indeed, the Canadian Association of Radiologists has been ringing alarm bells about the consequences of delayed access to medical imaging in Canada.

How will the Smith government’s new policy improve this dire situation?

First, some patients who pay for private diagnostics will exit the government queue, and others may have access to scans they might have struggled to get otherwise. And some of those patients will discover something that requires treatment. Not only will that earlier detection help the patient access treatment in a timelier manner, it will also potentially save resources because it’s generally more expensive and complicated to treat a condition in its later stages. That’s a win-win-win.

Second, when the government allows entrepreneurs to provide scans to paying customers, it helps create opportunities for additional private investment in new machines. It also allows providers to bring new technologies and approaches into Alberta for patients who pay privately. And this may also benefit patients in the government system if the government contracts with the private clinics and/or adopts the new technologies and approaches into the government system.

Despite any fearmongering about “U.S. style” health care or the demise of universal access, this new policy simply inches Alberta closer to every other universal health-care system in the developed world. Other countries such as Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia all provide better and faster universal health care while spending a similar amount of money (or less money) than Canada, because of—not despite—private options available to patients.

In other words, a private alternative for patients is not anti-universal health care—it improves universal health care. It offers a safety valve for the government system and encourages higher performance among health-care providers through competition. The result is better access to health care for all patients, both in government and private settings.

The Alberta government’s new policy on diagnostic machines and private clinics is not something to fear. Just like in the world’s top-performing universal health-care systems, a private alternative in Alberta can benefit all patients.