Alberta to increase spending on doctors by 22% as deficit budget looms | CBC News
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Alberta’s government says it plans to increase physician spending by 22 per cent in its upcoming budget.
Premier Danielle Smith says her government will spend $7.7 billion on doctors this coming fiscal year.
It’s one of the first major details to come out of what’s expected to be a budget filled with red ink and a multibillion-dollar deficit.
The government says most of the physician spending will go directly to pay, with $450 million for recruitment efforts.
In a statement to CBC News, Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Brian Wirzba said his organization is looking to see whether the funding reflects “the rising costs physicians face in operating their practices,” as well as if it will address systemic pressures facing the health system today.
“While the AMA was not notified in advance of this announcement and must review the government’s figures to understand how they have been calculated, allocated or linked to physician compensation and services, we are encouraged by the government’s focus on the investment required to sustain the system,” Wirzba wrote.
The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene Tuesday, with the budget to be tabled Thursday.
The return of legislature members comes days after Smith announced a fall referendum on new immigration policies, and a petition seeking to force a vote on the province quitting Canada continues to circulate.