Cardiology clinic becomes first in Saskatchewan to opt out of public health care

A doctor wears a lab coat and stethoscope in an exam room at a health clinic in Calgary, Friday, July 14, 2023. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Moose Jaw, Sask. -

A cardiology clinic in Saskatchewan, the birthplace of medicare, has opted out of the publicly funded heath-care system.

Dr. Jeffrey Wilkinson, who runs the South Saskatchewan Heart Clinic in Moose Jaw, says he believes it is the first clinic to do so since universal health care was introduced in 1962.

He says it has become too operationally and financially difficult to keep operating under the public system.

Wilkinson says Saskatchewan Health pays 20 to 40 per cent less than neighbouring Alberta and Manitoba for common cardiac procedures and his clinic's advocacy on improvements to fee-for-service rates hasn't received any response from the government.

• Get the CTV News app for Saskatchewan breaking news alerts and top stories 

No one from the government could immediately be reached for comment, but it told Discover Moose Jaw in a statement that physicians are able to opt out of the publicly funded system.

It notes, however, that it is the first time that a Saskatchewan physician has chosen to take that step.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 20, 2023