The UCP leadership candidate released additional details on Friday about how her plan would work if she becomes prime minister. The account will be managed through a smartphone app, which will allow users to contact and pay providers, Smith said. The money could be used for services not covered by medical care, such as prescription drugs, dentistry, physical therapy, mental health services and long-term care. Naturopathy, fitness classes and personal training are also on Smith’s list. “We must empower every Albertan to invest, save and spend health dollars on the services they decide will most benefit them and their families,” Smith said in the news release. “I hope we make investing in our health as much a part of our culture as investing in our RSPs and TFSAs.” Smith’s idea is to bash people who support a public health care system. Chris Galloway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said Smith’s idea is a ploy created for her campaign. He said no one is asking for a health bill. “It doesn’t solve any of the needs that people have or help the health care system that is very clearly in crisis,” he said. Rachel Notley, leader of the Alberta NDP’s official opposition, said the purpose of the health savings account is to force people to pay for health care services, something Smith suggested in a policy paper last year. Smith said her opinion was that fees for visiting family doctors should come out of those accounts. Notley said Smith’s proposal would limit people’s access to services and hurt people in poor health. “This idea is about withdrawing universal funding based on medical need and replacing it with a user-payment system based on how much money you do or don’t have in your account,” Notley said. “What you have in your account will depend on whether you are healthy or unfortunately have a health problem and therefore discriminates against those who need the help most.”
“Stop the gimmicks”
Smith’s rivals in the UCP leadership race also criticized the proposal. “While there are many unanswered questions about Ms. Smith’s idea, I know for a fact that it does not address the real health care issues in our province,” said Travis Toews, the UCP MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti. statement to CBC News. Like Galloway, Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Leela Aheer called the idea a $1.5 billion gimmick that won’t help recruit and retain family doctors. He said money for health spending bills would be better used to hire health professionals. “Precious taxpayer dollars must be spent transparently to help retain and attract the people who are so desperately needed,” Aheer said in a statement. “It’s time to stop with the gimmicks and it’s time for serious people to address the real issues of how we rebuild trust, friendships and transparency with doctors, nurses, EMS and healthcare staff” . Rebecca Schulz, UCP leadership candidate and MLA for Calgary-Shaw, wants to address wait times and strengthen primary care networks. He worries about how much it would cost to give people $300 through an app. “That’s such a small amount of money, and it’s going to take a lot of administration to drop those dollars for, like I said, something that barely covers two visits to a naturopath,” she told CBC News. Fort McMurray-Lac la Biche MLA Brian Jean focused on how Albertans can access the app in a tweet posted Friday. “Smith’s plan would create a de facto government digital identity,” he said. “Interesting.” Smith’s campaign did not respond to a CBC News request to respond to criticism of her proposal.
