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Kenney to address wait for surgeries

Announcement coming Wednesday
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Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro will announce investments to reduce surgery wait times on Wednesday. (File photo by BLACK PRESS)

The provincial government will make an announcement Wednesday about new investments to improve the timelines for Albertans waiting for surgery.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro has said reducing wait times is a top priority for the province.

A report by Ernst & Young, ordered by Shandro, reviewed the operations of Alberta Health Services and said money could be saved by having private clinics perform more routine surgeries paid for by public health care.

The report said Alberta spends 43 per cent of its budget on health — higher per capita than almost all other provinces — but with outcomes that put the province in the middle of the pack.

The Opposition NDP has called Shandro’s plan to use more for-profit clinics to reduce wait times the thin edge of the wedge to American-style care, where patients pay out of pocket or through private plans to get medically necessary procedures.

Premier Jason Kenney and Shandro will make the announcement at noon at the University of Alberta’s Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute.



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