Friends of Medicare
@friendsofmedicare.bsky.social
Friends of Medicare is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition working to defend, strengthen & expand public health care in Alberta and beyond. Join the fight! friendsofmedicare.org/join
FOM's Chris Gallaway participated in this important conversation to share our Alberta perspective. Take a listen!
PressProgress@pressprogress.ca · yesterdayWhat are Canadians supposed to do when their provincial government undermines their healthcare system? On the latest episode of Sources, we're sharing a recording of a virtual health panel we held last month on the subject of ‘when provinces go rogue.' 🎧 pressprogress.ca/canadian-hea...
“Premier Smith, Albertans with disabilities want to talk about how your government has betrayed them. And, dammit, so should you.” #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli edmontonsun.com/opinion/colu...
TAIT: Albertans with disabilities betrayed by Smith government
Please don't call the most vulnerable among us freeloaders from a podium and walk away without proof.
edmontonsun.com
This US resident has insurance and this is the bill he got for a single visit to the ER Canadians, we have so much to lose and nothing to gain from a two-tier system with private insurance like the Alberta gov is pushing
Too Big to Fail@toobigtofail.bsky.social · 2d agoI realize the Europeans have largely gone to bed, but: I got bitten by a dog yesterday and had a bad reaction to it and ended up throwing up all night last night. My wife made me go to the emergency room; I've gotten IV fluids and an abdominal ultrasound. This is what I had to pay. I have insurance.
EXACTLY!! Not helpful, even to those who jump the queue ... "over-diagnosis, anxiety, latrogenic injury" Typically, the policy is driven by ideology, not evidence #SupportPublicHealthcare #NoToPrivatization #abhealth
Timothy Caulfield@caulfieldtim.bsky.social · last wk.‼️ Sum: Ugh ‼️ ZERO evidence to support this move! Eg, likely to: > costs to healthcare system > overdiagnosis, anxiety, iatrogenic injury > confusion & inequities > wait times for public Alberta out-of-pocket payments for private medical testing beginning this week globalnews.ca/news/1199559...
Thousands of Albertans have emailed our political leaders! But there are 5 million of us who stand to lose. Please, be loud: share your concerns online, with your representatives, with friends—we can't let our public health care access quietly slip away. Act now! www.friendsofmedicare.org/actions
*MUST LISTEN!* What's being done to Alberta's health care system, what threat does two-tier health care pose to patients, and what we should do instead to improve care for Albertans? @alonghurst.bsky.social explains: toronto.citynews.ca/2026/07/29/a...
Alberta's 'two-tier' challenge to public health care
Starting in the fall, Albertans will be able to pay out of pocket for surgery. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the move will allow people to get off waitlists, thereby getting people the surgeries...
toronto.citynews.ca
‼️ Sum: Ugh ‼️ ZERO evidence to support this move! Eg, likely to: > costs to healthcare system > overdiagnosis, anxiety, iatrogenic injury > confusion & inequities > wait times for public Alberta out-of-pocket payments for private medical testing beginning this week globalnews.ca/news/1199559...
Alberta out-of-pocket payments for private medical testing beginning this week | Globalnews.ca
Patients will pay for the tests when they receive them and potentially be reimbursed if the results lead to a cancer diagnosis, the Alberta government said.
globalnews.ca
Health care decisions are between patients & their doctors. But the AB government keeps interfering in that relationship, setting a dangerous precedent that should be of deep concern to all of us. Help @queermomentum.ca call for a human rights inquiry on AB's violation of charter-protected rights!👇
Queer Momentum@queermomentum.ca · last wk.📣💥We’re launching a new campaign! Join us in pressuring the House of Commons to conduct an inquiry to cast a spotlight on Premier Smith’s callous anti-trans policies, and uplift the voices of trans youth and families. Visit queermomentum.ca/inquiry to join the movement.
“Telling Albertans to choose between cleaning out your retirement fund and waiting years in pain for a needed surgery is frankly insulting, and goes against the principles of equitability and universality on which our public medicare system is founded”: FOM's Chris Gallaway
The Tyee@thetyee.ca · 6d ago“Did Danielle Smith really believe her re-election fairy tale in 2023, or was she deceiving us?” David J. Climenhaga writes. thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...
The attacks on our public health system are ramping up. Now is the time for us to stand up and defend our healthcare system. Defend and expand. It is absolutely possible to expand it right now. But we all have to become part of the fight!!!!
Friends of Medicare@friendsofmedicare.bsky.social · last wk.“The very same day that Premiers were discussing the need for provincial, territorial & federal collaboration to protect healthcare access, Alberta was quietly making moves to circumvent the Canada Health Act & further pave the way for two-tier, American-style health care,” said Chris Gallaway
“The very same day that Premiers were discussing the need for provincial, territorial & federal collaboration to protect healthcare access, Alberta was quietly making moves to circumvent the Canada Health Act & further pave the way for two-tier, American-style health care,” said Chris Gallaway
Friends of Medicare criticizes Alberta changes to preventive health testing
EDMONTON - Friends of Medicare is accusing the Alberta government of taking another step toward two-tier healt...
play1037.ca
“What Alberta is doing is an existential threat to Canadian Medicare, not just for Albertans but for all Canadians, and we need to see a national response,” said Chris Gallaway of Friends of Medicare Alberta. www.saltwire.com/prince-edwar...
Charlottetown rally calls for premiers to back away from health care privatization
Unions and public sector advocates staged a rainy-day rally outside the premiers’ meetings in Charlottetown on July 22.
saltwire.com
“The Premier ran last election on a ‘Public Health Guarantee’ that her government would not de-list any medical procedures from public funding and that no Albertans would have to pay out of pocket to access care. Yet here we are.” @friendsofmedicare.bsky.social medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n...
Albertans will be allowed to pay privately, self-refer for diagnostic testing as of Friday - Medicine Hat News
zmason@medicinehatnews.com Starting Friday, Albertans will have the option to self-refer for preventative tests consisting of X-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI scans if they agree to pay for those tests o...
medicinehatnews.com
This video from @cdnhealthcoalition.bsky.social is more relevant than ever! What's the big deal about introducing a private queue to our health care? This video has the answers: Private care will NOT shorten wait times & will inevitably make those of us using the public system wait even longer.
Why does private health care lengthen public wait times? (HD)
YouTube video by HealthCoalition
youtube.com
The Alberta government keeps vaguely pointing to "European" health care to try to support their claim that a two-tier system will fix things. But Europe isn't a panacea & their privatization hasn't come without problems. Enough cherry-picking! Get the facts from @onthealthcoalition.bsky.social
MYTH BUSTER: European Health Care Models - Ontario Health Coalition
(July 22, 2026) Pro-privatization groups, some of which are funded by or linked to right-wing American organizations and corporate interests, have turned
ontariohealthcoalition.ca
Despite underspending on health care, Alberta ALREADY has among the highest per person private spending in the country—& growing! Yet the Premier expects us to believe that MORE privatization is the solution?? If it were, it would have worked by now🤷 Read from @policyalternatives.ca
Public versus private health care spending in Canada | CCPA
Canada already sees a higher portion of private health care spending than a lot of countries, and it needs to change
policyalternatives.ca
New analysis from @policyalternatives.ca! "Albertans who can afford expensive private health insurance premiums or pay thousands of dollars out of pocket, will receive their treatment faster. This is U.S.-style, two-tier health care plain & simple"
CCPA — Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives@policyalternatives.ca · last wk.New legislative changes are formalizing Alberta's private-pay testing scheme that allows the wealthy to jump the line by @policyalternatives.ca senior researcher @alonghurst.bsky.social: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
“The majority of Canadians believe that everyone deserves timely access to quality public health care ... Yet Alberta’s government seems intent on ignoring those voices, while doubling-down on failed privatization, bolstering a private insurance industry & constructing more barriers to access": FOM
Alberta allowing patients to self-refer, pay out of pocket for preventative health testing
The changes were announced in the spring and allow patients to pay for some tests and be reimbursed if the results show cancer to be found.
edmontonjournal.com
“The premier ran last election on a ‘Public Health Guarantee,’ repeatedly promising that ... no Albertans would have to pay out of pocket to access care. Yet here we are. What a betrayal of Albertans who took the premier at her word in the last election”: FOM's Chris Gallaway.
Alberta allowing self-referrals for privately paid MRI, CT and other imaging tests
The Alberta government announced Monday that Albertans will be able to obtain MRI, CT, ultrasound and X-ray examinations without first getting a referral from a doctor or other health-care provider.
ctvnews.ca
New rules permit Albertans to "purchase diagnostic screening tests including MRIs, CT scans, x-rays & ultrasounds, without a doctor’s referral." AKA: Legislated queue-jumping for the wealthy. This doesn't add capacity, it just changes who's at the front of the line. Read FOM's response on Friday👇
Friends of Medicare@friendsofmedicare.bsky.social · 2w agoWhile Canada’s Premiers met this week, Alberta quietly reclassified all preventive testing as non-insured extended health services. Laying groundwork to delist health services from public coverage? Yet another step towards two-tier health care. www.friendsofmedicare.org/oic_step_tow...
We can't keep scapegoating. The reality is: our health care issues are the direct result of policy priorities! During this time period, Alberta's government has funnelled record public dollars into private profits while evidence is ignored and patient care neglected.
Parksy@pfparks.bsky.social · 2w agoAB: Here is the EIP data (for ALL major EDs in the province) Indexed to Population growth. Obviously increased pop plays a role... but workforce, hospital and LTC capacity, complexity, technology, and GOVT POLICY make a massive impact. UCP GOVT POLICY has only made this worse! 1/2
"Chris Gallaway, Executive Director of FOM, came from Alberta to deliver his message to the premiers. 'By pushing forward with implementing Bill 11 our provincial government in Alberta is rapidly bringing two-tier American-style health care into Canada.'" nbmediacoop.org/2026/07/23/h...
Health coalitions call on premiers to protect public health care in the face of two-tier threat
Public health care advocates braved the wind and rain to rally outside the premiers' Council of the Federation meeting on
nbmediacoop.org
“The Premier ran last election on a ‘Public Health Guarantee,’ repeatedly promising that her govt wouldn’t delist any med procedures from public funding & that no ABs would have to pay … to access care. Yet here we are. What a betrayal of ABs who took the Premier at her word in the last election.”
Friends of Medicare@friendsofmedicare.bsky.social · 2w agoWhile Canada’s Premiers met this week, Alberta quietly reclassified all preventive testing as non-insured extended health services. Laying groundwork to delist health services from public coverage? Yet another step towards two-tier health care. www.friendsofmedicare.org/oic_step_tow...
“By September, Albertans will face a system of legislated queue-jumping for surgeries, in direct contravention of the Canada Health Act. The urgency of addressing this threat to our universal Medicare cannot be overstated,” FOM's Chris Gallaway said. medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n...
Canadian health organizations rally at premiers' meeting in PEI - Medicine Hat News
newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com With the premiers’ Council of the Federation meeting in Charlottetown this week, a group of Canadian health advocacy organizations are renewing their call on Canadian lead...
medicinehatnews.com
While Canada’s Premiers met this week, Alberta quietly reclassified all preventive testing as non-insured extended health services. Laying groundwork to delist health services from public coverage? Yet another step towards two-tier health care. www.friendsofmedicare.org/oic_step_tow...
Today, @cfnu.bsky.social released a paper by me & Nate Little. It was shared with the premiers in Charlottetown. The provinces face a health care funding cliff. The feds need to ensure stable CHT of at least 5% annual growth to protect heath care access across the country. @policyalternatives.ca
Canada's Nurses@cfnu.bsky.social · 2w agoLooming changes to the Canada Health Transfer will result in billions of dollars less in health care funding. With an avg. growth rate of 3.8% annually, the cumulative CHT will be $51.8B less over 10 yrs than if the escalator remained at 5% annual growth. Read more: nursesunions.ca/research/the...
A stronger Canada starts with a stronger health workforce. Public health care is a critical part of Canada’s economy. Investing in health care is investing in Canada’s future — strengthening #AccessToCare, supporting the health workforce and building healthier communities. https://bit.ly/4wVqeqj
FOM is proud to sign on to this statement with @cmadocs.bsky.social & orgs representing Canada’s health workforce! Federal health care funding is needed, but we need strings-attached to ensure the the Canada Health Act is upheld & our systems sustained: www.friendsofmedicare.org/canadas_heal...
“We’re seeing more & more action in provinces outside Alberta saying this is about all of us. It’s not just about Alberta doing something quirky or weird or different. It actually has implications for the whole country when it comes to medicare,” FOM's Chris Gallaway said from Charlottetown.
Groups across Canada call on premiers to protect public health care - Red Deer Advocate
Health care advocates from across Canada stood shoulder to shoulder in Prince Edward Island, where premiers met on Wednesday, to demand that premiers stop the spread of American-style health care […]
reddeeradvocate.com
AB cannot be allowed to break the Canada Health Act! “No other province allows what Alberta is calling dual practice where physicians can work in both systems simultaneously, & no other province is pursuing private health insurance for medically covered health care,” said FOM's Chris Gallaway.
Feds should increase federal health funding, but with strings attached: Friends of Medicare | Globalnews.ca
Friends of Medicare is urging the federal government to increase health care funding and impose more conditions on what the provinces can do with that money.
globalnews.ca