Dozens of health-care providers oppose potential insurance regulation changes in open letter – Calgary Herald

Repair planner Gary Ferguson writes an estimate to front end damage to a pickup at Herbers on Parsons Road.File photo

Almost 90 doctors and medical professionals opposed potential unfair changes to insurance regulations they said could cause those injured in motor vehicle accidents to pay more for medical care in a Thursday open letter to Premier Jason Kenney and Finance Minister Travis Toews.

Released by insurance fairness advocacy organization Fair Alberta Injury Regulations, the letter signed by 87 medical practitioners expressed concern that the insurance industry is now advocating for concussions and some other chronic conditions to be classified as minor injuries alongside sprains and strains.

Open Letter Re FAIR Insurance Regulations by Moira Wyton on Scribd

Patients with more expensive, complex and long-lasting injuries would have to pay more, the signatories said, because insurance payments for minor injuries have been capped since 2004.

Concussions, PTSD and chronic pain are not minor injuries and should not be categorically described or treated as such, said the letter. Expansion of the regulation is unfair to innocent Albertans who have been victimized in vehicle accidents.

Those are conditions that can haunt people for life, said Fair Alberta spokesman Mark Feehan in a previous interview.

Jerrica Goodwin, press secretary to Toews, said in an emailed statement to Postmedia that the government has not yet made any decisions on the regulation in question or other further changes to the insurance industry.

Government is currently reviewing the challenges associated with Albertas automobile insurance system, she said. This is a complex issue and our government will be looking at reforms to Albertas insurance system and will be considering a wide range of options.

The letter isnt the first time Fair Alberta has opposed insurance changes by the current UCP government.

In November, the province decided to end the five per cent auto insurance cap introduced by the former NDP government because they were hearing from companies that they were losing money by paying out morein benefits than they were making in premiums.

Premier Jason Kenney said recently that personal injury claims have been growing massively, contributing to higher premium costs.

Our goal is to ensure affordable and accessible insurance for Albertans, while ensuring the long-term sustainability of Albertas insurance system, said Goodwin, noting that they are engaging with key stakeholders throughout the process.

With files from Anna Junker

mwyton@postmedia.com

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