The changes being proposed to Medicare by the Mazankowski commission will weaken the real "Alberta Advantage," not strengthen it, says Les Steel, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"If the government really wants to stand up for the best interests of people in this province, then they should throw this thing in the trash," said Steel, responding to a report released on December 3^rd by the Premier’s Advisory Council on Health.

The Council, chaired by Mulroney-era cabinet minister Don Mazankowski, is recommending that a special panel be established to de-list an unspecified number of services currently covered by Medicare.

The report also says that the provincial government should "encourage" regional health authorities to introduce user fees and hire more private companies to deliver public health services.

Premier Klein has welcomed Mazankowski’s recommendations and promised that they will act as a blueprint for health care reform in Alberta in the coming years.

But Steel and other Medicare supporters say the Mazankowski report is a recipe for disaster – both for individuals and businesses.

"The Premier and Mr. Mazankowski talk about the need to control spending," says Steel.

"But this report isn’t really about reducing costs – it’s about transferring costs to individuals and businesses. It’s also about paving the way for private companies to make profits on the backs of the sick."

Steel points out that the current Medicare system acts as a huge competitive advantage for companies doing business in Alberta and other Canadian provinces.

As a result of Canada’s universal health care system, businesses here don’t need to pay for private health insurance for their employees. This gives Canadian companies an advantage over their American competitors who see up to a third of their payroll budgets eaten up by insurance costs.

"The labour movement’s first choice would be to maintain a fully-funded and comprehensive public health system that’s there for all Canadians when they need it," says Steel.

"But – make no mistake. If the government de-lists health services, then unions will have no choice but to bargain for supplementary private insurance. This will almost certainly drive up costs for businesses in Alberta – and reduce our competitiveness. Is that the kind of legacy that Ralph Klein really wants to leave?"

Steel’s concerns about the cost to businesses of de-listing services have been echoed recently by staunch pillars of the business community.

In October, Jack Davis, chair of the Calgary Regional Health authority and a long-time Tory insider, conceded that Medicare is a huge boon for businesses in Canada.

In the comments he made before the Senate’s traveling health commission, Davis even went so far as to suggest that corporations – which benefit so handsomely as a result of not having to pay for private health insurance – should be required to pay a special tax to help cover the cost of Medicare.

In addition to his concerns about de-listing, Steel says he’s also troubled by Mazankowski’s emphasis on contracting more and more health services to the private sector.

"The evidence from around the world is clear," said Steel. "Whether it’s American-style private health care or British-style contracting out, privatization doesn’t work. It always leads to higher costs and reduced quality of care. Given the dismal record of private health care, I can’t understand why the Alberta government insists on going down this road. They’re allowing their ideological preferences to blind them to the weaknesses of private health care."

Steel concluded by criticizing the Council’s recommendations involving things like user fees, medical savings accounts and treating health care costs as a taxable benefit.

"In all of these cases, the government is basically saying that Albertans should pay more for health care – on top of what they already pay in taxes and health care premiums," says Steel.

"Once again, the people who will be hardest hit by these schemes will be the ones who can least afford it – the poor and the sick."