Edmonton...Albertans will see no changes to their currently publicly funded health care services. The Alberta government will focus funding decisions on which new services it will support and look at the conditions under which some specific services are funded.

The Expert Advisory Panel to Review Publicly Funded Health Services produced two reports: Progress Report to December 2002, and The Burden of Proof: An Alberta Model for Assessing Publicly Funded Health Services. The reports recommended maintaining the currently funded categories of health services. The government accepted these findings. The panel also recommended changes to allied health services, including optometry, podiatry, chiropractic services and community physical therapy, which are not covered by federal legislation. The Alberta government rejected the proposed changes.

"After 40 years of adding services that go well beyond the Canada Health Act requirements, it made sense to review services to see if they kept up with changing health needs," said Gary Mar, Minister of Health and Wellness. "The panel conducted a thorough review and we took their work seriously, we concluded however, that the benefits to Albertans of maintaining coverage for allied services outweighs any savings that could be gained from making the recommended changes. Our fiscal responsibility lies in how we manage health care in the future and we will look to the Expert Panel recommendations to assist us in this work."

The Expert Advisory Panel also recommended a process to assess which new and emerging health services should be covered publicly. The Alberta government accepted the recommendation in principle, but will not create another advisory board, as proposed. Instead, Alberta will work with existing resources, like the Province-Wide Services Committee to make decisions about what new highly specialized, high-cost services are funded. Existing processes will be strengthened to improve the rigor and timeliness of decisions on whether or not to fund new services.

Alberta will begin this process by collaborating with other provinces and the federal government on a national strategy to enhance the usefulness of health technology assessments (assessments of safety, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of procedures). This approach will coordinate efforts, avoid duplication and make the most effective use of research expertise and capacities at the provincial and national levels. Alberta is already collaborating this way on the technical review of new drugs.

Alberta will retain its authority to make decisions on whether or not to fund new procedures. In addition to health technology assessments, funding decisions need to consider sustainability and reflect Alberta priorities.

The strengthened process will be implemented incrementally with stakeholders including health authorities, the Alberta Medical Association and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. The emphasis will be on timely, co-ordinated and appropriately researched decisions, and effective use of both expertise and capacities at the provincial and national levels.

The Expert Advisory Panel to Review Publicly Funded Health Services was established in May 2002 in response to recommendations from the Premier's Advisory Council on Health. The Panel's mandate was to recommend the broad categories of existing services that should continue to be funded, and advise on a process to determine which new health services should be publicly funded.

The reports, Progress Report to December 2002, and The Burden of Proof: An Alberta Model for Assessing Publicly Funded Health Services, are available on the Alberta government Web site, www.gov.ab.ca or by calling Alberta Health and Wellness at (780) 427-7164

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For further information, contact:
David Dear
Communications
Alberta Health and Wellness
(780) 427-7164

Dial 310-0000 for toll free access outside Edmonton

Access is available on-line at http://www.health.gov.ab.ca

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