Why an Alberta nurse practitioner clinic is charging patients

Nurse practitioners are frequently touted as a solution to Alberta's chronic shortage of family physicians. But the province has no mechanism for paying nurse practitioners who work for themselves. Provincial affairs reporter Michelle Bellefontaine breaks it down for us.

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[drusillawinters]

Those prices are so low compared to the US even with insurance.

[mrdynamic]

Thanks UCP for breaking Alberta health care, Alberta can’t find doctors due to past poor relationships with the UCP

[Crazycatsx]

Are NP’s able to refer patients to specialists ie cardiologists, orthopaedics, paediatrics when necessary or just send back to emergency?

[ninjaweretiger]

I’d not go to pay for it. I am on AISH. I can’t afford that at all. Glad it ain’t in my city.

[karenacton]

We have to wait for Smith to make it “her” idea, then she’ll move ahead and get this running.
I personally attended appointment with the NP…..she is great, extremely helpful and informative.

[rileymccoy]

SHAME ON THE GOVERNMENT FOR NOT WORKING WITH NURSE PRACTITIONERS!!! I WOULD MUCH RATHER SEE AN NP THAN AN

[rocketrider]

Physicians’ association/union don’t want to reduce their slice of the money/billing pie in order for NPs to bill the province. Often, you don’t need a doctor because a NP will provide appropriate care.

[jchampagne]

Bringing in nurse practitioners in out of the cold and allow them to run provincially-insured clinics could be a fantastic way to alleviate pressure from the hospital system in Alberta.

[marilyncolley]

It's called " charging a bribe" and they should be criminally charged 🤬 bull 💩

[memi]

Ridiculous. Can we have real doctors please? This is a complete scam upon us. If you thjnk you can replace a medical doctor, then your services should be equal. Things started to go downhill when corporations took over. Remember when your family doctor owned their own practice?

[dgmangold]

Interesting that you find it unbelievable that a person would pay for health care out if pocket.

[jayandsheenajacob]

Canada poaches internationally trained medical graduates to come from poorer countries to provide primary care to Canadians, while we turn a blind eye to Canadian trained NPs who can do much better in their own land. It seems the government has no interest in keeping Universal Health care accessible to all Canadians free of charge. Hence Universal health care remains a myth that many Canadians cannot access in a timely fashion. Many Canadians frequent the US or Mexico and even India for health care, which the government sometimes end up having to reimburse. Still Canadian NPs cannot bill for services in their own homeland.

The government seems hell bent on depriving poorer nations of their health care providers. That seems to be the only way for the universal healthcare system to survive.

[cherylw]

Although I'm no longer residing in AB, (I spent 55 years of my life in AB), I definitely am not opposed to a NP and would definitely have one as my primary care provider as some of the best care iv received are from a NP. I do NOT agree with a fee being charged to a patient. I understand why they have to charge as they can't get paid for their services otherwise. I now reside in a province where NP practice and are part of the primary care community and DO get paid by the government for their medical services provided to their patients. In fact when a person signs up for a doctor they are assigned a NP or MD. Its great!! Absolutely mind boggling to me why the government wouldnt support a NP to help alleviate the shortage, why train them but not support them.

[donnadesmoulin]

What’s going on is Daniel Smith and the UCP.

[lkuriskomd]

A willing person provides a service for which a willing recipient pays for said service. Wow! What a concept! That has been the basis of the world's economy for millennia. No third parties involved to screw everything up. It drives me crazy that Canadians refuse to understand this. Mind you, the US health care system is also screwed up by third parties. Both systems would work much better if for basic services, we paid directly. For large unexpected financial loses, that is when insurance should kick in. That is how insurance works for everything but healthcare. It is interest how there is no "crises" in homeowners or auto insurance.

[angelabeedoll]

Similar to Naturopath Dr's? Alberta needs more of both!

[ethimself]

Last I heard, extra billing of MD's etc etc was illegal. I guess nurse practitioners should now be covered by the National Health Plan - Period

[stormrunner]

Wasn’t the idea of NP’s to relieve the load of doctors when they started the program 15-20 years ago? Did the expect them to work for free? I believe they were to work in out clinics that could not get doctors to attend there during the doctor shortage of the time. I am bias because I think are overrated. To me they have become high class drug dealers even pushers of drugs. IMO.

[lesliemccormick]

Charging people for healthcare is unCanadian.
Call it what you want, it's an end run around the Canadian Healthcare Act and it's American style bullshit.

[ElectricEdgeAi]

They can still have pop-up 'clinics' without charging people. If Danielle Smith created a funded program, the clinics could operate with the nurse practitioners 'without' charging people. Otherwise, this is paving the way for 'better treatment' for rich people, and we can see how well that works for the 'average' person in the USA.