Alberta’s Innovative ‘Activity-Based’ Health-Care Funding Model Brings a Paradigm Shift.
Commentary
When faced with a longstanding issue in need of fixing, what’s the best approach?
Should you persist in trying and failing repeatedly, or should you seek guidance from those who have successfully tackled similar problems before?
Fortunately, a Canadian premier is opting for the latter when it comes to healthcare. Instead of pouring more money into a broken system, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is implementing a significant change that has proven successful in countries like Europe and Australia with superior universal healthcare systems.
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In essence, Smith’s policy change means hospitals will now receive funding based on the assistance provided to each patient rather than a lump sum at the beginning of the year.
This shift in approach significantly alters how the healthcare system views patients, transforming them from obligations to opportunities. Hospitals, non-profits, and private clinics will be incentivized to deliver quality care to increase funding, fostering competition among providers to offer superior patient care. This model encourages innovation and ensures patients are not burdened with hospital bills.
Implementing this model in Alberta marks a significant milestone, promising to reduce surgical wait times, enhance healthcare spending efficiency, and ultimately save lives. However, this should only be the beginning.
Looking to Europe for further inspiration, the European Union grants patients the freedom to seek care in other member countries, paying for treatment and receiving reimbursement up to the cost of the same procedure locally. This approach creates more options for patients and reduces domestic waitlists without incurring additional costs in the long run.
Smith’s next logical step is to adopt this patient-centric model to further improve healthcare in Alberta and reduce wait times. Similarly, other provinces such as Saskatchewan and B.C. should follow suit to witness a reduction in wait times and drive further healthcare reform.
Kudos to Premier Smith for taking proactive measures. The momentum must continue to enhance the lives of Albertans and inspire other provinces to pursue similar reforms.
Dom Lucyk is the Communications Director with SecondStreet.org, a Canadian think tank.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
