'A few processes to go through': LaGrange says more work to do on doctor pay deal

Alberta health minister Adriana LaGrange makes a health care announcement in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol)

Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange says there's more work to be done before a new compensation contract for the province's doctors is finalized.

Speaking to media Wednesday, LaGrange said she's trying to ensure the new deal, which was agreed to in part in April, is sustainable.

She said doctor compensation under the existing contract over the past few years has risen faster than inflation and population growth and is on track to surpass its $6.7-billion budget this year.

"I have to make sure that as the budget grows that I have the means to continue it on for the future," she said.

"We want our doctors to be well compensated for the work that they're doing, but I know that if this budget was a ministry in the government, it would be the third largest ministry in all of government next to Health and Education."

The group representing Alberta's doctors said on Monday that the government is dragging its feet in implementing the new deal and putting patients' lives at risk in the process as a survey found close to 70 per cent of physicians are thinking of leaving their practice by 2029.

The outgoing president of the Alberta Medical Association, Dr. Paul Parks, said on Monday that physician compensation hasn't kept up with provincial population growth since 2019, and is actually $731 million behind.

Parks also said approval from the provincial Treasury Board on the new compensation deal was a specific roadblock.

LaGrange said Wednesday that while Parks was correct in saying the Treasury Board still needs to approve the new contract, that isn't the only box that still needs to be checked.

"We are working faster than speed of government to get this completed and put through," she said.

She didn't provide specific examples of what still needs to be done.

"I just have some processes I need to go through."

A framework for the new contract agreed to in the spring will see Alberta expand on its fee-for-service compensation model for family physicians and introduce funding that is based on clinic size and capacity, as well as compensation for administrative work done outside of patient visits.

While not all of Alberta's roughly 5,000 family doctors are expected to switch from the fee-for-service payment plan, LaGrange said she thinks a "good portion" will make the change.

LaGrange said the government is still on track to implement the new deal this fall.

"We are absolutely committed to getting this done, and I don't want anyone to think that we're not."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.