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Health Canada says it has asked Alberta Health to investigate whether the clinic is providing privatized health care
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Health Canada says it has asked Alberta Health to look into whether a Calgary-based clinic is providing privatized health care.
Last week, Calgarians took to the internet messaging board Reddit to criticize JW Health, a clinic located across the street from Foothills Medical Centre, that claims to offer a suite of “uninsured” services for a $2,980 annual block fee.
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The clinic’s website states its medical services go “above and beyond” a traditional primary care clinic by offering same- to next-day appointments, an on-site blood laboratory and physician-approved subscription refills without an appointment.
JW Health — whose staff declined to comment when visited this week — also claims to offer longer hours, preventative screening, cutting-edge technology and its own private health app for patients, among other perks.
“While access to care is guaranteed, the existing health system may not prioritize convenient patient services,” its website states under a header labelled ‘I thought health care was free in Alberta?’
“If you seek comprehensive health care beyond brief appointments, our enhanced model emphasizes speed and convenience to cater to your needs effectively.”
Preferential access contrary to Canada Health Act, says Health Canada
Health Canada told Postmedia it has raised concerns about the issue of two-tiered health care with provincial governments and has asked them to investigate possible violations of the Canada Health Act’s universal access provisions.
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“Health Canada officials are engaging with their provincial counterparts to discuss this particular case,” the federal agency said.
Findings of these investigations have generally indicated these clinics provide members with an array of uninsured services, such as life coaching and nutritional services, the federal department stated.
“Mandatory fees to access, or receive preferential access to, insured services are contrary to the Canada Health Act,” an email from Health Canada reads.
“The Canada Health Act guarantees that all Canadians have access to medically necessary services based on need and not the ability to pay.”
Health Canada added it “closely monitors developments in provincial and territorial health insurance systems” to ensure clinics are complying with the Canada Health Act. The agency stated no Canadian should be paying out of pocket for medically necessary services.
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‘We will take appropriate action’: Alberta Health
An emailed statement from Alberta Health said the province is committed to maintaining Alberta’s publicly-funded health care system and the Department of Health monitors the billing activities of clinics to ensure they’re aligned with legislation.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the minister has directed her department to further investigate clinics that have a membership component to their services,” said Charlotte Taillon, press secretary for Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, in an email.
She said this latest investigation — still in its early stages — will review eight clinics in Alberta. The results will then help form a provincial audit plan, with audits of all remaining clinics to begin in early 2024.
“If any non-compliance is found, we will take appropriate action.”
While primary care is free to access, physicians participating in the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan can charge patients for certain services when they are not insured or not medically required — for example, elective cosmetic surgery or physiotherapy.
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However, physicians violate the act when they ask patients to pay for services that are covered by the provincial plan, or when they offer accelerated access to a family physician.
‘They’re being very vague’
Chris Galloway, the executive director of Friends of Medicare, a non-profit that aims to uphold Alberta’s universal public health-care model, said use of the term “uninsured services” to refer to a membership fee model is a way clinics can skirt health legislation.
“They’re (JW Health) being very vague, but they’re clearly providing access to primary care — if you’re willing to pay $3,000 a year,” he said.
“Creating a system where those with $3,000 can access a doctor under the guise that those fees are going toward other services and not the medically insured services isn’t OK. They’re clearly putting up barriers to care and creating two-tiered health care where those who can pay can access care.”
JW Health’s services are reminiscent of what the Marda Loop Medical Clinic faced public backlash for trying to offer earlier this year. The southwest Calgary clinic received a warning from Health Canada after announcing plans to offer fast-tracked access to a family physician for an annual fee of $2,200 per individual or $4,800 for a family.
Premier Danielle Smith said the clinic would face repercussions, such as being shut down or fined, if it began charging visitors the yearly fees. Health Canada officials warned Alberta would risk losing out on federal health transfer payments if the clinic operated as it intended.
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