By Leah Murray

Standard hospital stay costs in Alberta are some of the highest

Jul 25, 2017 | 5:39 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes is suggesting some changes need to be made after a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) was released showing Alberta has the highest cost of any province, aside from the Yukon Territory, for a standard hospital stay.

The average cost for a stay in acute care in Alberta is $8,007. The Canadian average is $6,098.

Costs include wages for nursing staff, other support staff, supplies and medication, but does not include the cost of doctors.

The CIHI compiles the report every year and the cost has steadily climbed.

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It suggests 72 per cent of the hospital care costs are attributed to staffing while ten per cent are for drugs and medical supplies.

As for why Alberta is so much more expensive, Nathalie Robertson, manager of financial standards and information, the institute says it has to do with higher wages for nurses and other staff.

“When we look across the board, across the country, you would see that Alberta has a higher wage rate,” said Robertson. “So, that would be one of bigger drivers in terms of why Alberta would have a higher cost of a standard hospital stay.”

Drew Barnes said the high cost for care is unacceptable and some changes need to be made.

“If we go back to some kind of regionalization and if we go back to where local people have local control and local authority they’ll find the savings, they’ll find the effectiveness,” he suggested.

Meanwhile Alberta Health Services says it’s working to improve patient access to programs and services to help reduce stays and costs.

For instance, they said the Rural Stroke Action Plan has saved close to $2 million in the past three years by increasing recovery speeds.

Barnes however believes more needs to be done when it comes to reducing healthcare costs, that includes possibly scaling back wages.

“There is this imbalance between what the public service is paid and what the private sector is paid,” he explained. “So, lets ask the public sector to look at it first and do what they think is best, and then from there lets make sure we don’t pass a big debt back to kids and grand kids.”

“Many factors go into the cost of a hospital stay including wage costs, patient demand, availability of care in the community, rural and urban dynamics, and healthcare investment,” read a statement from AHS. “Our focus remains on balancing cost, while ensuring we are able to provide quality and timely healthcare to Albertans.”

For more information and to see the report released by the CIHI click HERE.