Alberta Health: Prescription Costs Surge Amid Sleep Advice

ALBERTA — Doctors are telling seniors how to sleep better just as the province makes it pricier to fill their prescriptions. The timing? Let's call it awkward.

The Alberta Medical Association dropped a case study January 28, 2026, on managing insomnia in older adults—part of their "Optimized Prescribing with Seniors" series cooked up with the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta. Published January 15, 2026, the guidance pushes non-drug fixes and careful prescribing to help seniors actually rest without rattling the pill bottle first.

Meanwhile, those same seniors are watching their pharmacy bills climb. The government is hiking the maximum prescription co-payment from $25 to $35—the first jump in over 30 years. The increase kicked off July 1, 2025, and hits full force April 1, 2026. The official reason? Program costs are rising 7% annually, announced June 10, 2025, and someone's got to pay.

The System Gets a Shakeup

This isn't happening in a vacuum. Alberta's health system is getting torn down and rebuilt while patients are still in it. The Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, introduced by then-Health Minister Adriana LaGrange on May 1, 2025, cracked open the door for a new player: Assisted Living Alberta. Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon announced the agency January 30, 2025, and by April 1, 2025, it had seized control of continuing care, home care, and community care from Alberta Health Services.

The AMA wasn't thrilled. By Fall 2025, they rolled out their "Safety Net for Continuing Care framework," pushing for beefed-up home and community supports—a polite way of saying the current setup isn't cutting it.

The money tells the story. Seniors and non-group drug programs cost roughly $1.3 billion in 2023-24. That number's expected to hit nearly $1.5 billion by 2026-27. Alberta Budget 2025 threw $28 billion at operating the reshuffled health system, with $1.9 billion earmarked for drugs and supplemental benefits.

The Backlash Builds

Not everyone's buying the government's math. NDP Health Critic Sarah Hoffman slapped the co-payment hike with one word: "cruel." Advocacy groups lined up behind her. The Alberta Retired Teachers' Association and Friends of Medicare—helmed by Executive Director Chris Gallaway—formally blasted the cost-cutting, arguing it dumps the bill on the people least able to absorb it.

The new $35 maximum prescription co-payment goes live April 1, 2026. Assisted Living Alberta keeps running continuing care, home care, and community services statewide.