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Wealthy Albertans already travel for health services, so set up private clinics here, PC contender says
By Karen Kleiss, Edmonton Journal August 17, 2011 Alberta Conservative leadership candidate Gary Mar says the province must offer private health-care options for wealthy baby boomers or risk losing an economic opportunity.

"The thickness of your wallet should not govern your access to medically necessary health services ... but that does not mean there aren't people who are willing to pay for services themselves," Mar said Tuesday.

"I don't want to stand in the way between somebody who is willing to do that and a health service they feel that they need."

Mar, a former Klein-era health minister, emphasized his support for public health care, but said private care is the "elephant in the room.

"When I've looked at the best health-care systems in the world, at the core of many of them is a strong public health-care system, and so I also support a strong public health-care system.

"But it is a legitimate question to be asked whether or not there is a role for private delivery of health care to complement a public system."

Asked whether he believes wealthy people should be able to buy quick health care, he said: "Within the confines of the Canada Health Act, yes." Albertans are already travelling to facilities in other provinces for private surgeries, he said, adding that establishing private clinics here could bring that business here.

"I'm not talking about people getting better access to cancer treatment, to organ transplants, to emergency care. I'm not talking about those types of services, such as cardiac surgery.

"What I am saying, though, is there are a number of services that are already available, most notably orthopedic surgery that is available in other provinces, that Albertans are already using.

"If ... Albertans say, hey, we could be doing that within this province, and drawing people to our province to get certain services done - like orthopedic surgery - then that may be an economic opportunity for physicians here in the province."

Rival leadership candidate Alison Redford said she was "surprised" by Mar's comments. She believes Albertans want a public healthcare system that works, not a private system that provides preferential treatment to the wealthy.

"Albertans want a public healthcare system. Albertans want everyone to be treated equally," Redford said. "It's a core value. It's a core belief for me."

"I don't want us to have a system, and I don't believe Albertans want us to have a system, that can create preferential treatment. ... I want a system that is going to provide good health care for everyone in Alberta. To think that a private health-care system is going to do that is inappropriate."

Leadership candidate Doug Horner won't rule out private health-care options, but said the public system must be fixed before opening that door.

"At this point in time, I am against it because I think we've got lots to do in our publicly funded system," he said, adding that people need more options for accessing health care besides face-to-face appointments with physicians.

He said Alberta can take advantage of economic opportunities in the health-care sector by leveraging world-class research at the province's universities and offering health-care innovations to emerging markets.

Candidate Rick Orman said Albertans who talk about privatization are frustrated with long waiting lists.

The solution, he said, is to make the public system more efficient, but he is not ruling out privatization if health-care costs spiral out of control.

"I do not believe that today we need to expand to private health care," he said.

"Now, when I become premier ... if there's no other solution and costs continue to go up the way they have, then that's a problem and we will have to look for solutions."

Candidate Doug Griffiths could not be reached for comment. Candidate Ted Morton declined to comment.

Liberal opposition leader Dr. David Swann said giving people the choice to buy better health care erodes the public system because the best doctors will be attracted to lucrative private hospitals.

"Gary Mar's desire for an American, two-tiered health-care system is clearer than ever," Swann said. "It will be one standard for wealthy Albertans and one standard for the rest of us."

Swann said health care is not a consumer industry, it is a service industry.

"Privatization is not the answer."

Friends of Medicare executive director Dave Eggen said Mar "has the guts to say what they're all thinking.

"Maybe Redford didn't get the memo, but the rest have explicitly or implicitly endorsed the privatization of our health-care system for more than a decade."

Eggen said Mar "is trying to reframe this as some kind of reasonable middle ground, which it isn't.

"He is dismantling our health-care system.

"He is prescribing exactly the poison that infects the American health system, which is two-tier, private, insurance-based health care.

"It is very, very troubling. We must stand up and oppose it."
kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com twitter.com/ablegreporter

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