The publicly funded health system would pay, just as it does now. Under such contracts, regional health authorities, which are funded by the province, would pay the clinics for facility costs, non-physician staff and administration. The doctors' fees are paid by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan as they are when the surgery is performed in an RHA hospital. Government has increased health spending very significantly in the past few years and will continue to increase spending on the publicly funded health system. Alberta has never spent more on the publicly funded health system than today.
Health authorities can use the increased funding to open new beds and many have done so.
There would be no extra funding for contracts that an RHA might sign. Provincial funding would continue to go to the regional health authorities and the health authority would decide to use some of its funding to contract out services only if it felt that it was the most efficient and effective way to deliver those services. The surgical clinics are not necessarily more cost efficient than public hosptials. An individual analysis would be done for each and every proposed contract. Only those that showed a net benefit to the public system when considering factors such as increased access to services and cost effectiveness and efficiency, would be approved.