Alberta government plans to allow residents to pay privately for any diagnostic or screening service

Alberta is planning legislative changes that would allow people to pay out-of-pocket for diagnostic and preventive tests like MRIs, CT scans and full-body scans without a doctor’s order.

Some private testing is already available in Alberta. However, the government says options are currently limited, and if a privately purchased test reveals a significant or serious condition, the out-of-pocket cost will be reimbursed, “ensuring that no Albertan will pay for a medically necessary test.”

The government argues that the move will increase availability and reduce pressure on public resources, while improving early detection and health outcomes.

Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s minister of primary and preventive health services, framed the plan as a boost to modernization.

“We want to see an influx of investment and health professionals into Alberta to strengthen our preventive health care system for Albertans across the province,” LaGrange said in a statement. official video“This will help us do that.”

But some warned the plan could leave more Albertans behind, putting more pressure on the public health-care system.

Dr. Paul Parks, chair-elect of the emergency medicine section of the Alberta Medical Association, said, “This will have major implications and will completely dismantle our public health care system, and completely set up a system where those who have the resources and the money will get better and faster care.”

Officials said physician-recommended testing “will continue to be fully covered and prioritized in all facilities, public or private.”

On the number of technicians available

According to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the current problem has nothing to do with a shortage of technicians. The problem, he said Thursday, is that Alberta only pays for certain procedures.

“(Alberta Health Services), when they were managing all this, they rationed care. And as a result, we know we have unused capacity. We want to be able to use full capacity and also be able to get people into preventive and diagnostic testing,” Smith said.

“But more importantly, if someone does get something, we want to reimburse them and treat them… Right now, that doesn’t happen.”

Some, including Renaud Brossard, vice-president of communications at the Montreal Economic Institute, are optimistic about the idea.

“Every time someone goes to a private testing facility, it reduces the number of people waiting in line at one of those public facilities. It helps reduce the waiting lists in both areas,” he said.

“And then, the sooner we can catch a disease, the sooner we can catch a condition, the sooner it can be treated, the less expensive it is to treat, and certainly the less suffering the patient will suffer.”

Park disagrees. He said the biggest hurdle in Alberta’s diagnostic system is not a lack of machines, but a lack of skilled technologists.

He said if the government expands private pay imaging, those technicians will be attracted to better-paying, nine-to-five private jobs rather than working nights and weekends in hospitals.

“Right now, we can’t bring in technicians to work in our hospitals because it’s more difficult work, it’s after-hours work, it’s weekends,” Parks said. “For example, as soon as the government opens it up to private pay ultrasound, all our technologies will be gone.”

Alberta already has a division for MRI, he said, and it’s ““A perfect example of where there is inequality.”

“Private pay access to MRI is measured in days in Alberta…right now in the public pay system it’s measured in months to years,” Parks said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for LaGrange said new employees “continuously come to Alberta and graduate from training programs.”

“When we fund a new publicly funded hospital or add to the budget to pay more family physicians, they create new jobs for the workforce, and over time the workforce expands and fills those jobs,” the statement said.

“Of course, there is a shortage; all growth increases the demand for workers, which sometimes cannot be met immediately. This applies equally to growth in the public and private sectors.

“The idea that new jobs in the private sector steal workers from a fixed pool and leave no one to work in public facilities is a nonsense to ideological opponents of any private service.”

Chances of preventive benefit minimal: Doctor

Dr. Eddie Lang, an ER doctor with the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, said that theoretically, the move could create more jobs and increase profits for the companies doing it.

“But don’t tell me you’re going to prevent hospitalizations and cancer by offering this service. That’s only true in very select situations,” he said.

Lang said full-body CT or MRI scans may seem tempting, but they often uncover harmless, incidental things or “incidentalomas” — abnormalities that would never cause a problem if overlooked.

However, once diagnosed, patients can fall into a cycle of unnecessary followup scans, biopsies and worry, he said.

“So I can understand the financial incentive, but I’m really concerned about the scientific basis of making preventive screening tests and scans and MRIs free and open to everyone. I think that could be very dangerous.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for LaGrange said many Albertans only go to the doctor when problems arise, by which time some conditions may be difficult to treat or detect. Therefore, increasing access to preventive testing can catch problems earlier and improve health outcomes.

“We disagree that this will create more backlogs. More control over preventive health screenings could save and improve lives,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, patients stuck in long waits are being watched closely. Isabelle Klich, a 47-year-old mother of three from Calgary who suffers from severe arm pain, said she has booked an MRI for August 2027.

Cliche said, “Just think about everything you need your hands for, okay? Like, holding a book or just turning the page.”

The province said it will consult stakeholders on the changes and outline legislative and policy amendments needed to expand preventive screening options, with an update expected in the first half of 2026.