Calgary clinic owner defends health-care fees

The owner of a new health clinic in Calgary became emotional when he tried to answer questions raised by protesters during his privately run business's first day of operation.

At a rally protesting the opening of the Copeman Healthcare Centre on Monday, about 50 people held signs and surrounded owner Don Copeman when he tried to address the media.

The protest, organized by Friends of Medicare and attended by NDP, Liberal and Green party candidates, was intended to raise questions about the privatization of health care during the campaign for the Oct. 14 federal election.

For a fee of $3,900 in the first year and $2,900 every year after, patients get access to a range of uninsured services at the downtown centre. They also receive a specialized health plan designed by a team of doctors, nurses, registered dietitians and kinesiologists.

"It's not about the money," Copeman said Monday, going on to talk about the medical help his autistic son, Max, has needed. He said he and his wife started the clinic to improve health-care delivery.

Copeman paused to compose himself as his eyes filled with tears and then continued: "You may not agree with the short-term objectives. You may not agree with some of the basic principles…. But our hearts are in the right place."

He took issue with accusations that his business violates federal and provincial laws.

"It's slanderous," he told the crowd. "Please check it out first, then make the accusations."

Critics question legality of clinic

David Eggen, head of Friends of Medicare, said the clinic violates the Canada Health Act in regard to accessibility.

"This is the crux of it: if they are turning people away who come to get service and they're turned away because they don't pay that [fee]," Eggen said.

Copeman said any patient who wants to see a doctor for an insured service is free to call to make an appointment, noting his operation is not a walk-in clinic.

A 2007 investigation of Copeman's clinic in Vancouver found it did not violate the Canada Health Act because it was not charging extra for enhanced services.

"What he's done in B.C., he puts a big fog over it," Eggen said.

"You say, 'I want to see a doctor.' They say, 'Yeah we'll get back to you.' They never call back, right? That's how he does it now, right? The crux of the legality is shrouded in a bit of a fog right now."

John Chan, the federal NDP candidate in Calgary Centre-North, said such private clinics hurt everyone because they pull resources from the public system.

"They will divert the limited doctors and nurses we have from the public system into the private system, creating further shortages of health-care workers, and that means we will even get a longer waiting time."

But Copeman said the doctors he has hired either came from the United States or were not practising when they were recruited.