Alberta Premier Danielle Smith confirmed that the province’s health cards now come with an expiry date.
Saturday on her provincial call-in radio program Your Province, Your Premier, Smith addressed the concerns that some Albertans have expressed since the introduction of a combined driver’s licence and health card.
“We are putting expiries on the health care cards, yes,” Smith said. “That’s actually one of the things the (provincial) auditor-general has been asking for us to do for some time, because part of the problem we have now is we’ve got 500,000 more health care cards than we have people in Alberta.
“And the auditor-general is very concerned about the potential for fraud. You don’t want somebody who’s not an Alberta taxpayer going away for years and then if they need a knee replacement, coming back and getting Alberta taxpayers to pay for it.
“That’s not how the system is supposed to work, you’re supposed to be a current resident, a current taxpayer to be able to get the system to pay for you.”
Smith said the expiry date of the health care card is synchronized to the expiry date of the driver’s license or -- for non-drivers -- the Alberta identity card.
The cards expire after five years, she said, because “your face changes -- sadly, I’m noticing this more and more -- so you have to constantly update it (your card).”
“It’s a fraud prevention measure and it’s one that we should have done ages ago,” Smith added. “Other provinces do it . The time has come. Just make sure that you see that when your driver’s license or ID is expiring, just make sure you get in there and get it done.”
NDP concerned
Earlier this week, Sharif Haji, the Alberta NDP’s shadow minister for primary and preventative health services, said those who might find themselves without an integrated card while needing to access health care will have to pay for it.
“To see a family physician, the government’s own website says that if your health card expires, that means that you don’t have access except emergency services,” Haji said Thursday during a media conference.
“If you go to a medical doctor and your health card is expired, then you are not insured, basically meaning that you have to pay.”
Friends of Medicare also criticized the move on social media.
“Adding an expiry was completely unnecessary and does absolutely nothing to improve health care. Instead, like so many health care policy decisions by this government, it increases complexity and administrative burden, and creates more barriers that will disproportionately impact the already vulnerable.
“Everyone in Alberta deserves public health care, when and where they need it!”
With files from CTV News’ Craig Ellingson
