Braid: The UCP unveils a new private-pay scheme for blood work, ultrasound and other tests |
The government that gave us the Dynalife lab testing fiasco has another bright idea.
This one is also about medical testing. It’s interesting on the surface but caution is advised, given the toxic memory of Dynalife.
That disaster created long lineups for testing, wasted millions, and then gave the province fully public testing clinics rather than the private ones the UCP wanted in the first place.
This new move, unsurprisingly, is a segue to private payment for a medical service.
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On Monday, the government brought in a new law that will allow people who think they need a lab test or imaging to just head for a clinic and ask for it. No need for a doctor’s requisition.
You’d get laughed out the door if you tried that now. But the government will enable clinics that can do this.
“Albertans are waiting too long for diagnostic testing,” said Primary and Preventative Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange, who by pure coincidence was health minister during the Dynalife collapse.
“This legislation takes a practical step forward. If passed, Bill 29 will enable the government to expand access to certain preventive health tests without needing a provider referral,” she added.
LaGrange was asked if there’s enough capacity in test clinics to handle this new influx.
“The capacity is that if there is demand, and obviously people are paying for these tests themselves, there will be a market, a private market, that will step in to meet that capacity demand,” she said.
LaGrange was quick to add that if a person has a doctor’s requisition for a test, it’s still paid by the government.
(To be clear, the Dynalife disaster was never about private payment by individuals. It was intended to put all testing labs except those in hospitals under private ownership.)
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I asked LaGrange to imagine a 50-year-old man who felt he needed a PSA test but had no family doctor.
He gets his test, but what does he do with his diagnostic report? Wave it at a hospital?
“Well, we’re anticipating all of those situations,” LaGrange said.
“We have thought that through in terms of who would be able to read those tests, and should that perhaps even be a requirement of those clinics to have someone who is available to read those tests.”
Next question: Does a person get their money back if the test reveals serious disease?
There’s no clear answer to that. But people who pay for a private MRI sure don’t get a rebate, whatever the finding.
It’s also unclear if this new private-pay system would extend beyond lab testing to X-rays, CT scans and other imaging diagnostics.
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But LaGrange voiced admiration for systems in South Korea and Japan.
“Some of the things that they do are lifestyle testing. So, you can go in and get blood work. They can check your vitamin levels, hormone levels, etc.
“There are MRIs, there are CTs, there’s ultrasounds that are available.”
A further mystery is how much people would pay for services that have always (except for MRI) been purely public.
One estimate suggests the government itself pays about $170 for a standard ultrasound.
In blood testing, a purely private Calgary company called AvoVita charges $85 for a first test and $55 for subsequent family members. They send a “trained professional” to your home to collect samples.
What’s on offer here, it seems, is a network of new testing clinics devoted to people who, for whatever reason, need a test fast and are willing to pay for it.
It’s entirely possible that the government will help create the clinics, perhaps with contracts.
We’ve seen that movie before with private surgical clinics. Albertans don’t need a replay.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald.
X and Bluesky: @DonBraid