Private Healthcare in Alberta: A Medical Student's View

As a medical student doing clinical rotations in Alberta, the debate around public and private healthcare doesn't feel particularly abstract. It comes up in conversations with physicians, in the operating room, and when talking to patients about how long they have been waiting for care.

Alberta already has chartered surgical facilities (CSFs), which are privately operated but publicly funded clinics that perform procedures such as cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements, and hernia repairs. In the 2026 budget, the province committed $525 million over three years to expand CSF capacity, with a goal of providing 50,000 additional surgeries. Alberta has also introduced a "dual practice" model, allowing physicians to work in both public hospitals and private facilities. For medical students, these changes are becoming increasingly relevant to the healthcare system we will eventually practice in.

There is a reasonable argument for expanding CSFs. High-volume procedures can potentially be performed more efficiently in dedicated facilities, while hospital operating rooms can focus on more complex and urgent cases. This could also help address Alberta's long-standing surgical wait times. Importantly, these procedures are still publicly funded, meaning patients are not paying directly for the surgery. From a student's perspective, it is easy to see the appeal when you meet patients who have been waiting months for a procedure that has a major impact on their mobility, independence, or quality of life.

But there are also important concerns. Alberta's healthcare workforce is already stretched, and CSFs still rely on the same pool of surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Critics argue that moving more procedures into private facilities could pull staff away from public hospitals rather than simply adding new capacity. Some have also pointed to declining surgical activity in public hospitals as CSF volumes have increased. These concerns raise an important question: are private facilities actually expanding the system, or are they shifting existing resources from one part of it to another?

I don't think there is an easy answer. As a medical student, it can be tempting to look at shorter wait times and more operating rooms and see private delivery as an obvious solution. But seeing how dependent healthcare is on a limited workforce makes the issue more complicated. Increasing the number of places where surgeries can happen does not necessarily mean we have increased the number of people available to provide those surgeries.

What seems clear is that this debate will matter to the next generation of physicians. Alberta's healthcare system is changing, and we will be working within whatever model develops. Rather than viewing the public-versus-private debate as something that has already been settled, I think it is important for medical students to understand both the potential benefits and the risks of these changes and to think critically about what they mean for patients, healthcare workers, and the public system as a whole.

References:

1. Government of Alberta. Strengthening surgical care in Alberta, access to timely procedures [news release]. 2026. Available from: Government of Alberta

2. Government of Alberta. Dual practice. Alberta.ca. Available from: Dual practice, Alberta.ca

3. Government of Alberta. 2026–29 Ministry Business Plan, Hospital and Surgical Health Services. February 2026. Available from: Open Alberta

4. Canadian Healthcare Technology. Alberta budget includes $525M for private surgeries. March 4, 2026. Available from: Canadian Healthcare Technology

5. French J. Chartered surgical facilities are back in the headlines. What are they? CBC News. February 11, 2025. Available from: CBC News

6. Parkland Institute. Failing to Deliver: The Alberta Surgical Initiative and Declining Surgical Capacity. Available from: Parkland Institute

7. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Alberta enacts a U.S.-style two-tier health care system. June 24, 2026. Available from: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

8. Global News. 3,000 orthopedic surgeries to be contracted to private surgical facilities in Alberta. January 23, 2023. Available from: Global News