Health care coverage changed along with 2009 Alberta budget

Susan Thompson
Express staff

Albertans who use chiropractic care will be paying for it out of pocket or through private insurance starting this summer.

The province delisted the subsidy, worth up to $200 a year per patient, from its most recent budget.

Coverage for gender reassignment surgery, or sex-change operations, was also cut.

The cuts

Health Minister Ron Liepert said the recent cuts were necessary to pay for more home-care for seniors. Liepert is also not ruling out delisting other health services in the future.

The cut to chiropractic coverage will save the province approximately $53 million, and the cut to gender reassignment surgery coverage will save $700,000.

Meanwhile, single seniors will get a $40-per-month increase under the Alberta Seniors Benefit program, while senior couples will get a $60-per-month increase.

“Despite challenging economic times, this is a good news budget,” said Liepert in a press release. “We are maintaining our spending from last year and are also able to give Alberta Health Services an increase of $550 million or almost eight per cent to continue providing quality patient care to Albertans.”

The overall health budget was slightly larger this year, at $12.6 billion. But some projects, such as a new hospital in Grande Prairie, are under review and may not go forward.

Dr. Larry Gingerich, a chiropractor in Peace River, is disappointed but not surprised that chiropractic was cut from the health budget.

“We lobbied with the government and had discussions back and forth, but it’s happened in other provinces. We saw it coming down the pike,” he says.

Most patients will still be be able to access chiropractic care, since they are already used to having to co-pay for chiropractic and have some kind of benefit plan.

However, some patients will likely not use chiropractic care due to the cost, especially people with low or fixed income such as seniors. The additional cost will add to other up-front costs patients have to pay out of pocket, such as mileage to drive to the nearest chiropractors in Peace River and Grimshaw.

The cut to chiropractic might also cost the province more in the long run.

“It’s very expensive to treat back pain in the allopathic system because typically there is more imaging involved,” Dr. Gingerich points out. Chiropractic is also preventative, saving money in the long-term.

The provincial budget includes a projected $4.7-billion deficit over all. Finance officials are basing the budget on predictions that a barrel of oil will average $55.50 US this year and natural gas $5.50 per gigajoule. With energy revenues down, the province will cover the estimated shortfall of $6.4 billion by dipping into its $17-billion sustainability fund.

The province also forecasts three consecutive budget deficits in the years to come, and a surplus budget in 2012-13.

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