Canadian Doctors for Medicare

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Canadian Doctors for Medicare

Providing a voice for Canadian doctors and friends who want to strengthen and improve Canada's universal publicly-funded health care system.

We advocate for innovations, and for an equitable, accessible, high-quality Medicare system.

08/31/2026

What does private-pay diagnostic imaging mean for Northern communities? 🩻

Dr. Eleanor Crawford is a physician from Nunavut and a Board Member of Canadian Doctors for Medicare. She, like many other physicians up north, is concerned that for communities already facing limited access to health-care services, the impacts of a two-tiered system can extend beyond wait times. When health-care workers, equipment, and resources are limited, creating a parallel private system risks further widening existing geographic and socioeconomic inequities.

Health care access shouldn’t depend on where you live or what you can afford.
TwoTierHealthcare Medicare PublicHealthcare HealthPolicy CanadianHealthcare

08/21/2026

Alberta’s two-tier health care law is becoming policy.

Canadian Doctors for Medicare is calling on the federal government to act now to protect equitable access to medically necessary care for everyone in Canada.

Alberta’s Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (No. 2) enables physicians to choose between billing the public system and charging patients directly for medically necessary services. We are concerned that this will:
• Undermine equitable access by making access increasingly dependent on ability to pay
• Contravene the Canada Health Act and its commitment to access on uniform terms and conditions
• Exacerbate workforce shortages in the publicly funded system through dual practice
• Set a dangerous national precedent for the future of Medicare across Canada

Guardrails are not enough. Evidence from jurisdictions that have permitted dual practice shows that parallel private-pay streams can draw capacity away from publicly funded care.

We are calling on the federal government to apply mandatory dollar-for-dollar deductions to the Canada Health Transfer, initiate a Section 14 notice of concern, and urge Alberta to pause implementation while the federal review is underway.

Medicare should be based on medical need, not ability to pay.

08/12/2026

ICYMI: Read why University of Toronto Master of Public Health student, Esha Garrioch, and former Dean at the Cu***ng School of Medicine, Dr. Jon Meddings, say that Alberta’s new self-referral system for diagnostic imaging could “collapse” the public health-care system.

Link in bio.

07/17/2026

Alberta’s new legislation, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (no.2), breaks the Canada Health Act by permitting the dual practice of physicians in the public and private sector. This legislation will allow for a two-tier healthcare system in which the quality and timeliness of medical services depend on Albertan’s ability to pay for it.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Melanie Bechard, Chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare spoke alongside Canadian Health Coalition/Coalition Canadienne pour la Santé, Friends of Medicare, Action Canada, and Goldblatt Partners LLP for the release of a new legal opinion and to urgently call on the federal government to take action and enforce the Canada Health Act.

Upon the release of the legislation’s new regulations, it appears there is nothing to stop the contravening of the infringements the upon accessibility and equity of the Canada Health Act.

We are urging federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Prime Minister Mark Carney to act now through dollar-for-dollar deductions and the initiation of section 14 of the Canada Health Act and stand against two-tiered health care.

To learn more, check out the link in our bio.

05/17/2026

Let us be clear. There are proven, evidence-based solutions to the very real challenges our healthcare system is facing. Alberta’s proposed two-tiered model is not one of them.

05/07/2026

ICYMI: CDM Board Chair and paediatric emergency physician, Dr. Melanie Bechard, spoke at a press conference on Parliament Hill earlier this week explaining why Alberta’s Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (No. 2), also known as Bill 11, violates the spirit of the Canada Health Act. The legislation is likely to worsen health workforce shortages, jeopardize equity in access to medically necessary care and sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of the country.

To learn more, check out the link in our bio.

04/28/2026

ICYMI: Family physician and CDM board member, Dr. Eleanor Crawford, speaks to CBC news about how Alberta’s Bill 29 could worsen access to care for many of her patients living in the N.W.T. and western Nunavut.

04/22/2026

Fact: The federal government’s announced changes to the Interim Federal Health Program will deny refugee newcomers access to essential medications and health services.

Today, CDM board director, Dr. Edward Xie, joined physicians and allied healthcare professionals at a press conference on Parliament Hill to speak out against these changes. Check out the link in the bio to read CDM’s statement on the proposed changes which are scheduled to take effect on May 1.

04/10/2026

It has been exactly 2 weeks since our 2026 Better Medicare Health Summit, celebrating 20 years of CDM! Thank you to our title sponsor the Canadian Medical Association, our speakers, panelists and our over 120 attendees for a day of thought-provoking conversations about how to strengthen our publicly funded healthcare system. What was your favourite part of the summit? Let us know in the comments below!

Interested in learning more about CDM’s work including how to get involved? Check out the link the bio.

Address

304-720 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON
M5S2R4

Telephone

+18884145638

Website

http://www.canadiandoctorsformedicare.ca/

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