Alberta proposes legislation to open door to more access to private medical tests

EDMONTON — Alberta’s government is laying the legislative groundwork to let more people pay in order to bypass their doctor to get faster access to everything from CT scans to blood tests.

Primary Health Minister Adriana LaGrange introduced a bill Monday that, if passed, will allow for rules to fast-track some medical tests without a referral from a health practitioner.

LaGrange said it’s the first step in a previously announced plan to expand privately delivered medical tests.

“This is about adding capacity, not replacing our public system,” LaGrange told reporters Monday before introducing the bill.

“It’s about giving Albertans more control over their health while maintaining the strong public health-care system that we all rely on.”

She said right now, too many Albertans are waiting too long for diagnostic testing.

LaGrange declined to say which specific medical tests may be included or how the province may reimburse costs. She said those details will be clarified in regulations that will be crafted in the coming months.

She confirmed that the government’s plan, announced in October, “hasn’t changed,” although the province may start with “just one or two things and then build on it.”

In a video released in the fall, Premier Danielle Smith and LaGrange said reforms will permit Albertans to purchase any private diagnostic screening and testing service they wish.

“This includes MRIs, CT scans, full body scans, bloodwork — you name it,” said LaGrange in the video.

“Health professionals and medical organizations will be free to offer these services privately, and supplemental health benefit plans will be able to insure them,” she said.

She added the province aims to spur a flood of investment and health professionals into the province.

Smith said at the time if a privately purchased test identifies a new life-threatening condition, the government will reimburse the costs of that test.

On Monday, LaGrange stressed that medically necessary tests ordered by physicians will still be publicly covered and will always get priority across the province.

She said because people will be paying for tests, there will be a market for private providers to meet increased demands.

Critics and public health-care advocates have said the plan risks dragging the province further into a two-tiered system, siphoning critical staff from public hospitals and exacerbating lengthy wait times in the public system.

In an October statement, the Alberta Medical Association, which represents doctors, said the government’s move may improve access and reduce wait times for some, but said it needs to be paired with safeguards to avoid unnecessary testing and further strain on followup services.

Opposition NDP health critic Sharif Haji echoed that concern Monday, saying once a patient gets third-party results, they will still need someone to interpret them and follow up with care, adding to pressure on the public system.

“The ones who will be first in line are the ones who will be paying out of pocket,” he said.

The advocacy group Friends of Medicare said existing privatization of diagnostic services, such as MRI and CT imaging, has already put pressure on publicly delivered services and contributed to lengthening wait times in the province.

Chris Gallaway, executive director of the group, said the legislation won’t help, calling it “nothing more than legislated queue jumping.”

The province says current access to publicly funded preventive testing with no out-of-pocket payments requires referrals from a doctor, nurse practitioner, physiotherapist or dentist.

Some private clinics and health facilities already provide preventive testing services, but most still require provider referrals.

There are also publicly funded self-referral screening programs delivered through private clinics, including for mammograms, with no out-of-pocket costs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2026.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press