Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government has introduced new legislation that would allow patients to pay for medical care themselves, directly or with personal insurance. This may sound like private care, but it’s not what people might assume — or hope for.

Under Bill 11 , tabled Nov. 24, the province’s medical care will remain heavily regulated and centrally controlled. Patients will simply be able to pay for it themselves, and doctors will be able charge outside the public queue. The bill also permits doctors and nurses, in limited cases, to accept private payment at specified hours and locations, overseen and monitored by government.

The plan sounds a bit like government announcing a new way for citizens to send mail — at higher cost, in a post office across the street. The state

See Full Page