Thread by @ZiadFazel

On Wednesday, Health Min Copping "addressed the speculation" about funding cuts to Rapid Test distribution. He said compensation was "changed" from $5/test to $60/case.

Suspicious of the change in units, I looked into it.

Compensation has been cut from $5/test to $0.093/test.

If you're going to lead off weekly #COVID19AB theatre to say "rumours are not correct", then your clarification had better not be deceptive.

This would be the Labour Min saying Alberta's minimum wage has been "changed" from $15/hr to $500/month.

This compensation cut to pharmacists was announced in a PDF dated 3 March 2022, effective 7 March.

Goodbye $5/test dispensing fee.

Hello flat $60/case (for eg. 650 BTNX) the pharmacist has to apply for, to cover shipping directly billed by distributor.

ab.bluecross.ca/pdfs/pharmacy-…

Dispensing fees are max $12.15 until 31 March 2022 (watch for that to get cut) so $5/test *might* have been OK given there's no pill bottle to provide, label or receipt to print.

But the pharmacist still has to give you advice on how to use the test.

alberta.ca/pharmacy-servi…

Here's the Product Insert for BTNX COV-19C25 Rapid Antigen Test - the most prevalent in Alberta.

Piece of cake, eh?

btnx.com/files/COV-19C2…

This is why people rely on their pharmacists to explain how to use the test.

What dispensing fees are for.

rxa.ca/for-the-public…

I showed BTNX because it is most prevalent in Alberta.

36m of the 55m rapid tests shipped free by the feds.

canada.ca/en/public-heal…

• BTNX 650/case = 9.3 cents each
• Panbio 800/case = 7.5 cents each
• BD Veritor 2880/*pallet* = 2.1 cents each?

ontariohealth.ca/sites/ontarioh…

Min Copping claims AB Health "eliminated almost all administrative work for pharmacists who are providing.."

In reality they eliminated the way for pharmacists to bill for their advice on how to use the test.

They won't even let the distributor bill the province for shipping.

One would expect a conservative gov to know when you stop paying private sector to do something, they likely stop.

Rapid tests are key to Alberta "learning to live with Covid-19".

Looks like AB Health is cutting off pharmacies to push business to high-$$ mail-order cronies.

Wish I'd seen @Adam_Toy spotless reporting before my 🧵

Turns out AB Health cut compensation to pharmacies 93%, to not even 7 cents per Rapid Test, putting pharmacies at a loss for distributing them.

Which of course is discouraging pharmacy orders.

globalnews.ca/news/8755532/r…

@Adam_Toy @Howl_it @GosiaGasperoPhD @jvipondmd @LeylaDAsadi @kasza_leslie @demandsbetter @littlepoteets @TheBreakdownAB @TehseenLadha @sameo416 When Rapid Test distro started in mid-Dec, pharmacies had to do TONS of work for $5 per kit:
• advising people carefully, especially to avoid false negatives
• unpredictable deliveries of tests and vax
• on top of 3rd-dose crush/panic from Omicron

ab.bluecross.ca/pdfs/Reference…

Looks like AB Health never wanted pharmacies to be compensated fairly for distributing Rapid Tests.

Another choking of publicly-funded supply to drive business to private-sector cronies.

Now, they can't even bill for 2 cases at a time. 1 Case per bill.

ab.bluecross.ca/pdfs/pharmacy-…

In Jan, Premier & Health Min repeatedly lied the holdup in Rapid Tests (👇 expensive failure to beat free tests from the feds) was due to Health Canada not approving enough.

In reality, they tied AHS hands by forcing it to bid against federal contracts.

https://twitter.com/ZiadFazel/status/1483109267313807360?s=20&t=93V1SOKOS3pPThXSmFzPyA

Ugh. This gets worse every time I look at it.

The 7 March 2022 "change" shifted the shipping cost from directly billed to the province..

..to now billed to the pharmacy, which the pharmacy then has to claim from Blue Cross, ONE CASE AT A TIME. 😠

ab.bluecross.ca/pdfs/pharmacy-…