Alberta's health ministry says an audit announced last December has determined that more than 40 medical clinics in the province are advertising membership fees for services, nearly a year after one such plan landed a Calgary clinic in hot water.The Marda Loop Medical Clinic is pictured in Calgary on July 26, 2023. Last year, Health Canada said planned arrangement at the clinic ran contrary to the Canada Health Act and the province launched an Alberta Health inquiry.
"Over 40 clinics in the province a membership meant to pay for a defined set of uninsured services, while also providing insured services covered under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan at no cost to Albertans," wrote spokesperson Andrea Smith in a statement. What comes next for those 40 clinics is a murky grey area, said Fiona Clement, a professor at the University of Calgary in the department of community health sciences. Much of it has to do with the exact language being used when services are outlined as parts of packages.
"That's the problem that Marda Loop got into, because there you are charging access to medical care, which is the part that contravenes the Canada Health Act," Clement said. "So, 40 is a larger number than I was expecting. And I think it speaks to growth in this area, the number of clinics that are charging fees for different parts of care," Clement said.