What is Bill 11?
Bill 11 is a broad piece of Alberta healthcare legislation that took effect on October 1, 2026.
It includes substantial changes to the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act, including the ability of physicians to provide services in both the public and private healthcare systems.
What We’re Watching With the Government of Alberta’s Bill 11
| What's Changing | What This Means | The Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Private Plans Pay First | Moving forward, government plans will become the "payor of last resort", meaning if an employee has any access to a private plan, it will be billed first before a coordination of benefits can happen with a government plan. | Currently, there are valuable government-sponsored programs like the Alberta Blue Cross non-group plan and the seniors drug plan, which allow us to share high cost medications with other plans. We will manage risks to the financial health of your benefits plan by being extra vigilant during this time of change. |
| Employees Over 65 To Continue Healthcare Coverage | Employers will need to maintain healthcare coverage for employees over 65.* *Small exception is Alberta Blue Cross will continue to terminate vision benefits after age 65. | The change applies to drug coverage and healthcare services. It does NOT apply to dental or other benefits that have age-related termination clauses like life, disability, travel, etc. |
How Bill 11 May Impact Your Employees
There is an increased likelihood that employees will reach their annual coverage maximums sooner and have greater out-of-pocket costs once their maximums are reached.
How This May Impact Your Plan
Like most government changes, the full impact will take time to fully realize.
We do believe that private insurers will step in to fill gaps for services previously covered by the government, and the cost of private plans will likely go up.
What You Can Do to Mitigate Increasing Costs
We have tools available to mitigate risks for employers and will work hard to make sure your plan remains financially sustainable.
Our job is to review your benefit plan and assess it for risks with these impending changes.
Questions and Answers
Bill 11 Q & A
If you have any employees over the age of 65, you must ensure they have access to drug coverage and the following extended healthcare benefits:
- Ambulance services
- Clinical psychological services
- Home nursing care
- Chiropractic services
Employers are not obligated to maintain coverage for other benefits like life, disability and travel coverage.
Any active employees over 65 who had previously been removed from your plan will need to be added back to the plan.
Contact Timber for help.
No action is required on the part of employers.
Each insurance carrier is updating their system and client contracts.
What you do need to make sure is to add any employees over the age of 65 back to your plan to receive extended health benefits, including drugs.
Contact us if you need help with next steps on this!
These changes do not impact Health Spending Accounts (HSA’s). A plan member does not have to use up their HSA before accessing government coverage.