Health Canada says Calgary clinic charging for health services contrary to the Canada Health Act
Posted Jul 25, 2023 6:45 pm.
Last Updated Jul 26, 2023 1:42 pm.
A health advocacy group says the Alberta government needs to step up and halt a medical clinic in Calgary set to charge members nearly $5,000 for health services, while Health Canada says the fees are contrary to the Canada Health Act.
The Marda Loop Medical Clinic emailed its patients offering a “comprehensive” healthcare service that is set to start on Aug. 1.
A two-parent family would have to pay $4,800 each year to be members, couples would pay $4,000, a single parent would pay $2,400, and an individual adult would pay $2,000. A child-only membership without an adult would cost $500.
The benefits include reduced wait times, allowing scheduling options and longer appointments, telemedicine services, monthly chart monitoring with proactive reminders, at-home once-a-year blood tests for adults (the primary member), preventative medical counseling, and collaborative care from its healthcare team.
Dr. Sally Talbot-Jones, the owner of the clinic, said Monday she will provide care one day a week to non-members.
CityNews has contacted the clinic but did not receive comment before publication.
WATCH: Calgary medical clinic’s extra fees get federal and provincial attention
Health Canada says if the government doesn’t act swiftly, Alberta risks losing federal transfer health payments.
“Canadians should have access to primary health-care services based on medical need and not on their ability, or willingness, to pay,” Health Canada said in a statement Tuesday.
“The Government of Canada does not support a two-tiered health-care system where patients may choose, or be required, to pay membership fees to access insured primary care services at clinics, or to gain expedited access to those services.”
The health agency says Alberta officials have been informed that “the ability for patients to purchase preferential access is contrary to the Canada Health Act.”
“We are working collaboratively with the province of Alberta to ensure the clinic’s patients continue to receive medically necessary services free of patient charges.,” the statement reads.
It states that a mandatory deduction to federal health transfer payments will occur unless a province amends an issue when medicare laws are breached. The ways to ensure this doesn’t happen include amending legislation, creating programs, and other policy changes.
Alberta advocacy group calls on province to act
Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, says they are “deeply concerned” as the move sets a precedent for other clinics to do the same, along with private companies who may be looking to take advantage for profit.
“This will really expand across the province,” he told CityNews.
“Whether it’s private surgical centers allowing people to skip over provinces and pay, or Loblaws allowing people to pay for testing at their pharmacies, and other things that are really undermining the public healthcare system and allowing those with money to pay for access while the rest of us are left waiting.”
The Canada Health Act dictates universal access to publicly funded health services, but Gallaway says the actions of clinics and businesses like Marda Loop Medical Clinic go against the “principles of the act.”
“We should see someone step in on this,” he said.
“The provincial government needs to act. They have the power to not allow these fees to happen. They should act and do that, but they also need to act to recognize the concerns doctors are sharing, which is why this is happening.”
WATCH: Calgary medical clinic charging ‘thousands of dollars’ in membership fees
Meanwhile, Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says the fees being charged at the clinic are “insidious and undermines the very values of public healthcare.”
“Public healthcare means every Albertan gets the care they need, when they need it and where they need it, regardless of the amount of money in their pocket,” her statement reads.
“We cannot have the availability of doctors being dictated by debit cards.”
She says that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith broke the promise she made during and before the election campaign that Albertans would not have to pay to see a doctor.
“We call on her to commit right now to bringing legislation in the fall to ban ‘Members-Only Medicine,” Notley continued.
“Let’s put a stop to this right now. Let’s protect public healthcare.”
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However, clinics paying for healthcare predate the United Conservative Party (UCP) government and also happened during Notley’s term as premier.
Lorian Hardcastle, a University of Calgary associate professor in the Faculty of Law and the Cumming School of Medicine, says clinics have been popping up for over 10 years, offering subscription rates for uninsured services.
“That really undermines the Canada Health Act principles around equitable access and not paying to access insurance service,” she told CityNews in an interview.
She says these models tend to involve executives of various companies paying extra for services, but the Marda Loop clinic is significant due to all patients needing to shift to a private model.
“Canada’s healthcare system has been structured around the premise that with insurance services, including basic primary care services, those are accessed on the basis of need rather than the ability to pay,” Hardcastle explained.
“There’s a concern that those who can pay for these services, the wealthier, tend to be healthier, and to the extent that doctors are shifting their practice towards these kinds of paying patients, those who need health care most may be left behind and may struggle to get access.”
WATCH: Is paying out-of-pocket private health care?
Regarding the NDP’s calls for action, Hardcastle says this mainly falls with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) to address, but she admits the province could tighten health insurance legislation to disincentivize doctors working in both the public and the private system.
In a statement to CityNews, the CPSA says all physicians in Alberta must follow its standards of practice which include charging for uninsured services.
“To the best of our knowledge, CPSA was not asked to review the clinic’s proposal prior to implementing this model of membership or block fees,” its statement reads.
“As we currently do not have a full understanding of what’s being offered, CPSA isn’t in a position to comment on whether or not the model is in alignment with our standards, but will follow our normal processes to better understand the concerns brought forward.”
Alberta government says clinic must comply with legislation
In a joint statement to CityNews, the premier and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange say physicians in Alberta are expected to follow the Canada Health Act and the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act.
“Alberta’s government would be extremely concerned if this clinic were charging fees for services that are insured and offering accelerated access to a family physician, at the expense of other patients needing to wait longer,” the statement reads.
They also say Alberta Health has been directed to investigate the clinic to “ensure compliance with all legislation.”
“If any non-compliance with relevant legislation is found, we will take appropriate action,” they say.
“Albertans do not pay out of pocket for insured health services such as seeing a family doctor or visiting a hospital – that will not change.”
Smith has repeatedly said no Albertan would have to pay out of pocket for healthcare, a slogan she touted before the start of the election.
Recently, Smith issued a mandate letter to LaGrange, asking her to improve the system “within the pillars of the Canada Health Act and, importantly, in alignment with our government’s Public Health Care Guarantee that no Albertan will ever have to pay out of pocket to see their doctor or receive a needed medical treatment.”
In April, she and the UCP announced a “public-health guarantee,” pledging to stick with publicly-funded health care and not axe any services and prescriptions.
However, this was scrutinized as Smith has said multiple times in interviews and in a 2021 paper she wrote for the University of Calgary School of Public Policy that she supports the idea of health spending accounts.
-With files from The Canadian Press and Logan Stein
