Alberta's NDP, several unions and Friends of Medicare are warning Albertans that the UCP's Bill 55 will destroy public health care by allowing hospitals to be turned over to private interests and patients to be charged fees.
“The UCP said they wouldn’t privatize health care. Then they expanded private surgeries, took over ownership of all Alberta Health Services assets, and now they are pushing a Bill to let private corporations run hospitals," said Alberta’s New Democrat Shadow Minister for Health Sarah Hoffman, about Bill 55, The Health Statutes Amendment Act.
“What this government is trying to get away with is a complete abdication of its responsibility to care for Albertans.”
Hoffman will introduce several amendments to the bill, specifying hospitals are to be publicly funded and operated, private interests cannot take over operation of hospitals, patients cannot be discharged until a health professional determines they no longer need care, and a patient cannot be transferred to a motel, hotel, shelter or the street.
A statement from the Health Minister's office said the NDP's claims are nothing but fearmongering.
"Bill 55 is not a step towards privatization. Our government remains firmly committed to a publicly funded provincial health system. We stand by our public health guarantee — no Albertan will ever have to pay out-of-pocket for medically necessary services, including visiting a family doctor or receiving care in a hospital," said the minister's office.
The proposed changes outlined in Bill 55 focus on improving accountability, coordination, and outcomes across the system — not limiting access to care or creating financial barriers, the office said.
"Bill 55 does not allow private corporations to take over public hospitals. The Health Facilities Act explicitly prohibits private hospitals in Alberta, and that will not change. Hospitals will continue to be operated by Alberta Health Services (AHS), provincial health agencies, or health corporations — not private corporations. Sarah Hoffman knows this full well from her time as Health Minister, yet continues to spread misinformation to mislead Albertans."
Friends of Medicare said the sweeping 332-page bill includes significant changes to Alberta’s health care system, impacting 54 pieces of legislation under 19 ministries of the government.
“The government is trying to sneak through massive changes to our public health care delivery by burying them within the many pages of Bill 55," said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
“Albertans deserve to see a capacity plan that will ensure we have the beds and workers we need to provide timely, quality health care. Instead, this government keeps trying to find new ways to hand our public assets over to their friends to turn a profit off of.”
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said Premier Danielle Smith is using the threat of separation from Canada to distract attention from the worst attack on public health in Alberta history.
“Smith and her UCP colleagues rail on about how heavy-handed and undemocratic Ottawa has been with Alberta. But they do far worse. Bill 55 represents a fundamental change to our health care system, and it should get weeks of debate, not days," McGowan said.
"If Premier Smith is really committed to ‘consulting with Albertans,’ as she has claimed in the context of the issue of separation, then she should put this dangerous bill on hold and allow time for Albertans to weigh in.”
The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) said not only would Bill 55 allow the health minister to turn public hospitals over to private interests, it could permit hospitals to evict sick patients or even turn them out into the streets, which has happened in cities in the United States.
The UNA also believes parts of Bill 55 may be in violation of the Canada Health Act.
The health minister's office said strengthening oversight and accountability is a core focus of Bill 55, not diminishing it.
"By formally assigning responsibility to hospital operators, we are ensuring direct oversight tied to the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of care delivered to Albertans. Importantly, decisions about patient care will continue to be made by physicians and health professionals, not administrators — this will not change. Albertans will continue to receive the care they need, when they need it, without having to pay out-of-pocket or being penalized for accessing that care," the office said.
