Alberta ban on private health insurance challenged in Calgary court

CALGARY – Alberta’s ban on private insurance for medically necessary services is being challenged in a Calgary courtroom today.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is supporting two men who say they were forced to pay out of pocket to get health care they needed in the United States.

They say they couldn’t get help in a timely fashion in Alberta’s public system.

Justice centre spokeswoman Carol Cross says access to a waiting list is not the same as access to health care, and Alberta’s law ensures a virtual monopoly for the government.

Dr. Darcy Allen and Richard Cross have filed separate applications in Court of Queen’s Bench that question whether the law is constitutional.

The group wants a 2005 Supreme Court of Canada decision that struck down a similar Quebec law on private insurance expanded to Alberta.

Allen says he hurt his knee and back playing hockey several years ago and had to travel to Montana to get the surgery he needed.