Alberta health act proposed by government committee

A provincial advisory committee is recommending that Alberta have its own legislation governing how its health-care system operates, a reform it says would work within the Canada Health Act.

An Alberta health act would enshrine the principles Albertans agreed should be in the provincial health-care system, Edmonton Conservative MLA Fred Horne said at the release of a report by the advisory committee on healthWednesday.

Horne was the co-chair of the committee, which was formed by former health minister Ron Liepert in September to help the province reform and update its health-care legislation.

"We asked people where do you think those sort of things belong?" Horne said. "They told us quite clearly they belong in a health act built by Albertans for Albertans."

The Alberta health act would be the overarching legislation governing health care in the province, Horne said. The report says the act would operatewithin the Canada Health Act.

"The preamble to the act should clearly affirm that Alberta's health-care system will operate within the parameters of the Canada Health Act and its principles of public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability and accessibility," the report said.

"The Alberta health act should address the much broader range of health services within the province, both those that receive public funding and others within the overall continuum of services that enable healthy people and communities."

The committee also proposed thatAlberta create its own charter of rights for patients and define principles of accountability, access and transparency that must be maintained in the health care system.

The province should consolidate a number of provincial health-care laws, including the Hospitals Act, the Nursing Homes Act and the Health Insurance Premium Act, the committee said.

Premier pleased by report

In a news release, Premier Ed Stelmach said he was pleased with the committee's recommendations and the idea of an Alberta health act.

"This act would put people and families first," said Stelmach. "And it speaks to what we all want from our publicly funded health system: safe, quality care that is there when we need it."

Stelmach said he has asked Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky to quickly review the report and send him a response.

But the opposition was quick to jump on the recommendations, charging that they will do little to help people with their health-care needs.

"People who are waiting in emergency rooms or are waiting for cancer care or are struggling with a parent who needs long-term support aren't looking for legislation, and I don't think they believe legislation is the problem, and I don't either," said Alberta Liberal health critic Kevin Taft. "The problem we have is lousy management, lousy political leadership."