The province expects to receive more than $6 billion from Ottawa via the Canada Health Transfer this year.
healthcare costs
Last year, Canadians could expect a median wait of 27.4 weeks between referral to a specialist and receipt of treatment.
The French health-care system features several safety nets to protect vulnerable patients.
The Canada Health Act severely limits the ability of provinces to innovate and experiment with health-care policy.
Patients in the province faced a median wait of 33.3 weeks between seeing a general practitioner and receiving treatment.
Canada ranked last on access to specialist visits in under four weeks.
If the provinces increased provincial spending, they’d either have to raise taxes or run larger budget deficits.
The cost of health care has increased by 210.3 per cent while incomes have only risen 116.3 per cent.
Albertans waited 32.1 weeks for medically necessary treatment—6.5 weeks longer than the Canadian average.
Cost-sharing payments for health care incentivize patients to make better choices.