Health-care reform in Alberta

Over the past forty years, the Canadian health-care system has undergone many changes and realized many achievements. Universal coverage, organizational simplicity, high status of health together with a high level of public satisfaction indicate success of the system. And yet, the health-care system began to show signs of strain. Changing consumer expectations, mounting health-care expenditures and a continued emphasis on the institutional sector contributed to the down-side of the success. In response to this, the Alberta government initiated fundamental reform of this complex system. This paper chronicles Alberta's approach in reforming and restructuring the health-care system. It reviews a number of developmental and policy initiatives that set the stage for a health-care reform mind-set in the province. It reviews Alberta's approach to health-care reform from its initial stages to the development of the first Three-Year Business Plan for Health through to the format on of a regionalized health-care system. The paper concludes by offering some preliminary observations of this reform process.