Palliser Friends Of Medicare
@palliserfom.bsky.social
Southeastern Alberta (Palliser) Chapter of Alberta Friends of Medicare - https://bsky.app/profile/friendsofmedicare.bsky.social
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...
"The Alberta Medical Association’s annual State of Health Car report found only 53 per cent of Albertans report that they can get an appointment with their family doctor when they need one." medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n... #AbLeg #AbHealth @friendsofmedicare.bsky.social
Medicine Hat area leads province in primary care metrics; Minister Wright hopes to export local wins to the province - Medicine Hat News
zmason@medicinehatnews.com During an appearance in Medicine Hat last week, Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Justin Wright highlighted the Palliser Primary Care Network as an exampl...
medicinehatnews.com
AB gov is already demonizing newcomers, we can expect two-tier to make it worse “There’s an inherent power imbalance between health care providers demanding that newcomers pay out-of-pocket, and those individuals and families who have very little to begin with.” calgary.citynews.ca/2026/07/30/a...
Alberta private-pay medical testing might create new barriers for newcomers, researchers warn
Starting Friday, Albertans will be able to pay out-of-pocket for preventative diagnostic tests like MRIs, CT scans, and ultrasounds without a doctor’s referral. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the...
calgary.citynews.ca
Well AHS V051 Is out.. "Best Summer Ever" is happening right across the province, in terms of ER Closures, OBGYN Shut downs, Surgical closures & More.. Edmonton is even part of tonight's shut downs! This and more.. Right here! open.substack.com/pub/frazzleh... #abhealth #ableg @pfparks.bsky.social
AHS V051 of 2026! A 'Rare' Friday report, of what's closed over the long weekend!
Edmonton Urgent Care CLOSED & More!.. Yes more.. "Best Summer Ever" a remake!
open.substack.com
"The Alberta Medical Association’s annual State of Health Car report found only 53 per cent of Albertans report that they can get an appointment with their family doctor when they need one." medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n... #AbLeg #AbHealth @friendsofmedicare.bsky.social
Medicine Hat area leads province in primary care metrics; Minister Wright hopes to export local wins to the province - Medicine Hat News
zmason@medicinehatnews.com During an appearance in Medicine Hat last week, Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Justin Wright highlighted the Palliser Primary Care Network as an exampl...
medicinehatnews.com
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...
🚨 80% effective. Flu Vaccine Remains Highly Effective Against Pediatric Mortality jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... "Vaccine effectiveness against mortality was 80% overall, 77% among children with underlying medical conditions, and 87% in children with no known conditions." #VaccinesWork
Flu Vaccine Remains Highly Effective Against Pediatric Mortality
Updated estimates of influenza vaccine effectiveness in the US found that coverage reduced the mortality risk among children and adolescents with and without underlying medical conditions.
jamanetwork.com
Bill 11 NEEDS TO BE STOPPED Sign here to add your name. This Bill 11 will affect all of Canada. It will destroy Tommy Douglas's Health Care We can't let Smith do this. We have to fight back. Every one deserves Health Care, no matter their income level. #cdnpoli www.healthcoalition.ca/no-two-tier/
No Two-Tier U.S.-Style Health Care – Canadian Health Coalition
healthcoalition.ca
PEIPolitical 🇨🇦@peipolitical.bsky.social · 7d ago“We’re a little province of 170,000 people, but they’re soaking tens and tens of millions of dollars out of the public system here." "The end goal of this is going to be that our health care is run by the same American companies.” #cdnpoli www.saltwire.com/prince-edwar...
Working past 65 in Alberta? Your health benefits could soon cost your employer more. Employers, doctors worried about implications of insurance changes www.cbc.ca/news/health/... #AbLeg #AbHealth
Working past 65 in Alberta? Your health benefits could soon cost your employer more | CBC News
Starting this fall, Alberta employers will have to cover the cost of health insurance for employees over the age of 65.
cbc.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 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
“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
University of Alberta researchers unlocked the molecule that makes snails sleepy. They say it could be groundbreaking organ transplant medicine. www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/art... #AbSci #UAlberta #biology #science #medicine #SciChat
U of A researchers unlocked the molecule that makes snails sleepy. They say it could be groundbreaking organ transplant medicine
University of Alberta researchers are making slow but sure — pun intended — developments in organ transplant and heart surgery medicine inspired by snail hibernation.
ctvnews.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...
Take a look at this EIP (admitted pts in ED) data for the MIS ED before and after opening up their brand new ED! This is perfect constipation illustration: building a bigger rectum doesn't help fix constipation (and yes the ED has become the bunged-up rectum of our HC system) 1/2
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
“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
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
“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
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
