Seniors in Alberta can be charged up to $150 for a mandatory driver medical exam in order to keep their drivers license, but one Airdrie resident is questioning the value of these exams altogether.
At 86-years old, Marie McIntosh continues to drive about 4,000 kilometres annually in her beloved car she bought brand new in 2011. Sitting down in her living room, she told the Airdrie City View that her 2011 car now has only 47,000 kilometres on it.
“I just don't have the desire to drive a lot any more,” she said. “I used to drive 47,000 kilometres per year easily.”
Due to seniors being at a higher risk of deteriorating health that may impact their ability to drive, the Government of Alberta website states this is why they require a driver medical fitness review at age 75, age 80, and every two years after age 80.
“I made the appointment for the 19th of this month,” McIntosh said about her upcoming driver’s medical exam. “Because my doctor is on vacation I'm going to see some other doctor at the clinic. I think I may have met him once. Is that the person that's going to decide whether I drive or not?”
In her experience of previous driver medical exams, the exam consisted of a checklist-type form, listing major health issues like if she had diabetes, a recent stroke, or a recent heart attack. The form was to be filled out by a doctor at a cost of $150.
During her last review she was also required to complete an eye exam.
Alberta’s Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors could not provide comment by deadline on who determines what is part of the medical exam and how often individuals fail the exam.
McIntosh said some of her senior aged siblings had to complete a cognitive test as part of their driver fitness review. In her opinion, the test questions didn’t relate to driving ability at all and she felt it was a joke.
While she has no doubt she will get her license again, she questions why a stranger should decide on her ability to drive based on the limited medical exam.
“I don't see the purpose in it, I don't see that these people are qualified to tell a person that they can't drive anymore,” she said. “I think the only people that are qualified to do that are your family or people that know you well.”
McIntosh feels the process is an attack on seniors and a way to push them out of their driver’s seats.
On top of that, if one doctor refuses a medical exam approval, seniors can go to any walk-in clinic with $150 in hand and walk out with an approval from another doctor they just met, she said, referring to a friend who did just that.
“It's a buy-in permission to drive whether I can or not,” McIntosh said. “It's not logical.”
After paying for the exam itself, she has to pay $43 to renew her license, which adds up to $200 after the additional credit card charges and fees.
“$150 is a lot of money when you make less than $30,000 a year,” said McIntosh.
Physicians now allowed to charge their own rates
On March 31, 2020, Alberta’s government implemented a new physician funding framework. One of the changes under the framework was the de-insuring of seniors’ driver medical exams in order to ensure that the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) is used for medically required services, stated Nicky Gocuan, press secretary of the Minister of Service Alberta And Red Tape Reduction.
"With this change, physicians must advise patients 74.5 years of age or older of the cost of the exam before starting the exam," he wrote in an email to the Airdrie City View. "Physicians are also encouraged to follow the rate previously paid under the AHCIP, which was $85.58."
As the licensing authority, the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services is the only delegated authority to make licensing decisions, such as placing conditions on a licence or issuing a suspension of a driver’s licence.
Due to physicians operating as independent businesses, they are allowed to set their own rates for any uninsured services.
Previously, the Government of Alberta covered the cost of the exams for approximately 45,000 seniors every year.
The Airdrie City View reached out to the province on why the change was made but they couldn’t provide a response by deadline.
While the City of Airdrie does have the Airdrie Fair Access Program that makes commuting more affordable for low-income residents, it can still be a lot for those on a fixed income and it takes away seniors' independence.
“Now if you look at me, would you think I couldn't drive?” the 86-year old asked, jumping up from her seat to do a spin. “Is there a problem?”
She said accidents on the road can happen to anybody, not just seniors, and she’s not willing to give up her independence yet.
“I do my own grocery shopping, I keep my car clean, I run to the car wash, and drop off bottles,” she said. “Those things I couldn't do any more. I would have to have somebody.”
While her grandsons would gladly help her, she said there’s a psychological aspect to having your license denied that tells somebody they’re now too old to do certain things.
“I know I'm more limited than I was but that's why I only drive 4,000 km a year,” she said. “I drive to Crossfield once a week to church and then some running around town here. I don't want to lose that independence.”
McIntosh has three older siblings who all chose when to stop driving on their own and not because a doctor told them otherwise, she said.
“Most people give up their license when they're ready to, I just don't understand the charge here,” McIntosh said.
For more information on the program, visit: https://www.alberta.ca/driver-medical-fitness-review
More information from the Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors to follow.
