Count on it, UCP red tape will make it easier to lose your health care

Where the hell is Dale Nally now that we actually need him? 

For those of you who missed the memo, Mr. Nally is the “minister of red tape reduction” in Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party Government. 

Unfortunately, as anyone living through this government’s existence should by now understand, no one loves red tape more than the UCP, especially if it can be weaponized against political enemies or vulnerable citizens who can be bullied for political gain.

On Saturday, a report emerged about one of the UCP’s new red-tape-entanglement initiatives that should cause serious concern – not just for those of us who are going to have to live with the fallout, but for the government itself, which stands to encounter significant political blowback if it persists. 

So perhaps, given the risk to the government itself, this is an opportunity for Mr. Nally to actually live up to his job description as a red-tape eliminator and do something for the beleaguered people of Alberta. 

The report, which appears to have first shown up in a tweet by The Breakdown account on Twitter/X, tells of a mother who learned she would have to pay for her child’s emergency surgery because her registration with the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) had expired, which she did not know had happened. 

Now, it is possible that the situation outlined in the message picked up by The Breakdown has not been described with 100-per-cent accuracy. That can’t be verified right now. But enough of it matches the government’s own information about how AHCIP registration is henceforth supposed to work that it should worry anyone living in Alberta. 

The proximate cause of the problem seems to be the UCP’s malicious decision to include AHCIP registration in the form of the bearer’s Personal Health Number on driver’s licenses, the most common form of legal identification, as well as Canadian citizenship information. 

While it adds significant red tape to the process of renewing a driver’s license, the purpose is in part performative.

It widely understood this change is intended to make it easier to deny public health care to newcomers to Alberta who are not yet Canadian citizens. This, in turn, is meant to justify the Smith Government’s effort to blame the federal government for its own failure to plan for the wave of immigration it had been promoting months before it became unpopular with its own voting base. It also appeals to racist sentiments and conspiracy theories about mass immigration harboured by many in the MAGA-influenced separatist fringe of the Conservative movement – a key part of Ms. Smith’s base within the UCP.

Indeed, withholding public health care from immigrants is the subject of one of the five slyly racist referendum questions on immigration planned by the UCP on Oct. 19.

However, since Premier Smith has also made it clear on many occasions that she believes Alberta should introduce U.S.-style private health insurance, co-pays, and up-front fees to Canadian health care, it is not outrageous to suspect inclusion of a bureaucratic new requirement to periodically renew AHCIP registration is intended to drive Alberta citizens out of the system. 

That would be hard to prove, although there are already many credible reports that the red tape associated with the new rules is making it harder for Albertans to renew their expiring driver’s permits – especially for seniors and married women who have adopted their spouse’s surname. 

So what does the Government of Alberta say about this?

As of last month, the AHCIP eligibility section of the government’s official website said, “Residents of Alberta are required to maintain on-going eligibility in order to remain covered under the AHCIP by revalidating their coverage on a timely basis.

“Albertans are required to visit an Alberta Registry Agent on or before the expiry date displayed on their Alberta personal health card. … AHCIP coverage is tied to the expiry date displayed on the health card and if coverage has not been renewed on or before this date, AHCIP coverage is cancelled.”

This is odd since the current cards still used by most Albertans show no expiry date. Many Albertans will believe that if they have renewed their driver’s license, their green paper Alberta health card will still be valid. This is not necessarily so. Nor does the expiry date show at this time in online MyAlberta Health accounts

Nevertheless, it’s clear you will have to re-register for continued health care coverage at a private registry office every five years, every two years if you are over 75, at least if you continue to drive. If you forget, you’re going to find yourself without public health care coverage. And, trust me, a lot of Albertans are going to forget. 

There is an appeal process. Naturally, it will add new red tape as well. 

A page devoted to standalone cards for Albertans who do not have driver’s permits states: “After July 2, 2026, all standalone health cards will have an expiry date displayed on the card. This is known as an AHCIP expiry date. All health cards in Alberta (standalone, mobile health card or integrated cards) are valid if the expiry date has not passed. 

“Using a card that has expired can result in being turned away at a doctor’s office or health facility or to pay out of pocket,” it warns. 

It also says: “You will never be turned away from receiving emergency health services, however if your card is expired, you may have to pay for the services provided.” (Emphasis added wherever it appears.) 

Now, to be fair, a single news story, published by Postmedia’s Sherwood Park News, claims there is no problem. “A widely shared social media post warning Albertans they could lose access to public health care if they fail to renew their health cards is circulating, but while it draws on real legislation, it lacks key context,” the story says. 

The story, though, also lacks key context. It says “the changes do not mean an immediate or permanent loss of health care. Individuals would receive multiple notices to renew before any action is taken. … However, coverage is not permanently revoked. Once residency and eligibility are verified, benefits can be reinstated, often retroactively, with reimbursement for eligible expenses.” But it provides no attribution for these claims. Nor do its claims appear on the relevant government web pages. 

Readers can decide for themselves whether they are reassured by this. 

How the health system will collect the debts incurred by Albertans who forgot to renew their AHCIP registration remains to be seen. It will require additional red tape and bureaucracy – either within the public service or, more likely, through multi-million-dollar contracts like those being used in the UCP’s disastrous restructuring of Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped or with local contractors like the brainiacs we paid millions to buy unusable Turkish “Tylenot” in 2022. 

The UCP would be wise to put out a reassuring message immediately stating that no one will ever lose health coverage because they forgot to renew their driver’s license or AHCIP card. 

It’s more likely, though, they’ll fall back on accusing the NDP of “fearmongering” and trying to frighten the seniors. For its part, our hapless Opposition party will probably ignore the issue, even though a little fearmongering is obviously in order. 

Remember, this is a government that allowed the personal data of 2.9 million Alberta voters to be leaked to foreign bad actors without consequences, mismanaged the “refocusing” of health care, and takes its policy cues from the Trump Administration. So its record strongly suggests this is going to be another gong show with plenty of collateral damage. 

And Dale Nally, the minister responsible for red tape reduction and private registry agencies? He’ll be no help at all.