Alberta government thread

[Altair]

Bringing this back to Alberta, their attempts to stop puberty blockers in children up to 15 could be heavy handed,

Thank you.

 

[QV]

Disrupting normal hormone balance during a child's primary development years must have significant negative and long term impacts.

 

[MilEME09]

Disrupting normal hormone balance during a child's primary development years must have significant negative and long term impacts.

well a quick prompt to chatgbt produces this

While puberty blockers can be life-saving for some individuals by providing them more time to explore their gender identity without the distress of unwanted puberty changes, there are potential long-term effects and risks to consider. Research on the long-term effects is still ongoing, but here are some of the known or suspected effects:

1.​

One of the more concerning potential long-term effects of puberty blockers is a reduction in bone density. Estrogen and testosterone are important for bone development, and when puberty is delayed or suppressed, it can interfere with bone growth. Long-term use of puberty blockers may increase the risk of osteoporosis or bone fractures later in life, especially if hormone therapy isn't started in a timely manner to "re-activate" puberty or stimulate bone growth.

2.​

Since puberty blockers halt the body's natural growth spurt, there could be a delay in achieving full adult height. Some studies have found that children who take puberty blockers may end up slightly shorter than they would have been if they had gone through puberty at a typical age, though the overall difference is often relatively small. In some cases, if hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is started early enough after puberty blockers, it may mitigate this effect.

3.​

The long-term use of puberty blockers may have an impact on fertility, though this is not fully understood. When combined with hormone therapy (such as testosterone for trans men or estrogen for trans women), fertility may be compromised. This is why it's often recommended that individuals who wish to preserve fertility consider options like egg or sperm freezing before starting puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

4.​

While puberty blockers can help alleviate the distress caused by the wrong puberty, some individuals may experience emotional side effects, particularly if they are taking the medication for an extended period. These could include feelings of isolation, depression, or anxiety—though these effects may be more closely tied to gender dysphoria itself than the medication. Importantly, a supportive environment and mental health care can mitigate these effects.

5.​

Puberty is also a critical period for brain development, and some concerns have been raised about how blocking puberty could impact cognitive, emotional, and social development. While this area is still under study, some researchers have speculated that pausing puberty may affect things like executive functioning, social development, and the ability to make decisions—though evidence for these risks is still limited.

6.​

Since puberty blockers have been used for gender dysphoria relatively recently, there are still many unknowns about the long-term effects, particularly if they are used for decades. Ongoing research is needed to fully understand the risks and benefits over the lifespan.

Mitigating Risks:​

• Monitoring and Timing: Puberty blockers are typically used for a limited time, often a few years, before transitioning to hormone therapy if appropriate. The key to mitigating risks is careful monitoring and a well-timed transition to hormones that align with the individual's gender identity once they are old enough.
• Medical Supervision: Regular check-ups with healthcare providers, including bone density scans and mental health evaluations, are important for people using puberty blockers to ensure any adverse effects are caught early.

Conclusion:​

Overall, while puberty blockers can be a vital tool in supporting young people with gender dysphoria, their use does carry potential long-term risks, particularly related to bone health, growth, and fertility. The risks need to be weighed against the benefits, and careful monitoring by healthcare providers is essential to minimize negative outcomes.

 

[OldSolduer]

We should not be fucking around with nature - but we do ALL the time.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

 

[Altair]

We should not be fucking around with nature - but we do ALL the time.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

Are trans individuals not part of nature?

I'm confused.

 

[QV]

well a quick prompt to chatgbt produces this

While puberty blockers can be life-saving for some individuals by providing them more time to explore their gender identity without the distress of unwanted puberty changes, there are potential long-term effects and risks to consider. Research on the long-term effects is still ongoing, but here are some of the known or suspected effects:

1.​

One of the more concerning potential long-term effects of puberty blockers is a reduction in bone density. Estrogen and testosterone are important for bone development, and when puberty is delayed or suppressed, it can interfere with bone growth. Long-term use of puberty blockers may increase the risk of osteoporosis or bone fractures later in life, especially if hormone therapy isn't started in a timely manner to "re-activate" puberty or stimulate bone growth.

2.​

Since puberty blockers halt the body's natural growth spurt, there could be a delay in achieving full adult height. Some studies have found that children who take puberty blockers may end up slightly shorter than they would have been if they had gone through puberty at a typical age, though the overall difference is often relatively small. In some cases, if hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is started early enough after puberty blockers, it may mitigate this effect.

3.​

The long-term use of puberty blockers may have an impact on fertility, though this is not fully understood. When combined with hormone therapy (such as testosterone for trans men or estrogen for trans women), fertility may be compromised. This is why it's often recommended that individuals who wish to preserve fertility consider options like egg or sperm freezing before starting puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

4.​

While puberty blockers can help alleviate the distress caused by the wrong puberty, some individuals may experience emotional side effects, particularly if they are taking the medication for an extended period. These could include feelings of isolation, depression, or anxiety—though these effects may be more closely tied to gender dysphoria itself than the medication. Importantly, a supportive environment and mental health care can mitigate these effects.

5.​

Puberty is also a critical period for brain development, and some concerns have been raised about how blocking puberty could impact cognitive, emotional, and social development. While this area is still under study, some researchers have speculated that pausing puberty may affect things like executive functioning, social development, and the ability to make decisions—though evidence for these risks is still limited.

6.​

Since puberty blockers have been used for gender dysphoria relatively recently, there are still many unknowns about the long-term effects, particularly if they are used for decades. Ongoing research is needed to fully understand the risks and benefits over the lifespan.

Mitigating Risks:​

• Monitoring and Timing: Puberty blockers are typically used for a limited time, often a few years, before transitioning to hormone therapy if appropriate. The key to mitigating risks is careful monitoring and a well-timed transition to hormones that align with the individual's gender identity once they are old enough.
• Medical Supervision: Regular check-ups with healthcare providers, including bone density scans and mental health evaluations, are important for people using puberty blockers to ensure any adverse effects are caught early.

Conclusion:​

Overall, while puberty blockers can be a vital tool in supporting young people with gender dysphoria, their use does carry potential long-term risks, particularly related to bone health, growth, and fertility. The risks need to be weighed against the benefits, and careful monitoring by healthcare providers is essential to minimize negative outcomes.

Pretty much the impacts I was thinking about. That all sounds very terrible. Especially if administered to a young child who is confused/impressionable and later change their mind.

 

[Quirky]

its free to renew so why not have automatic renewal, people have busy lives, I doubt you'll get a reminder in the mail, so if I forget to renew mine, and the next day I suffer a heart attack, I am no longer covered at the hospital, see the problem? This punishes people who might simply forget, especially the elderly

Those seem like excuses to me to avoid responsibility. There could be a number of ways to handle these types of things, like having one Alberta resident card which has your drivers license, health number, YMCA membership, etc etc. Until something like this happens, people need to be accountable for themselves and their own lives.

 

[MilEME09]

Those seem like excuses to me to avoid responsibility. There could be a number of ways to handle these types of things, like having one Alberta resident card which has your drivers license, health number, YMCA membership, etc etc. Until something like this happens, people need to be accountable for themselves and their own lives.

Imo it's unneeded red tape for no reason especially if I cant renew online and have to go to a registry to get a new free card

 

[Blackadder1916]

its free to renew so why not have automatic renewal, people have busy lives, I doubt you'll get a reminder in the mail, so if I forget to renew mine, and the next day I suffer a heart attack, I am no longer covered at the hospital, see the problem? This punishes people who might simply forget, especially the elderly

Other than my objection on principle to the current government's move to scrap the (crappy) paper health card in favour of a "digital card" or to have it added to the driver's licence, the ones most at risk of losing (even temporarily) will be those at the edges of society. They will not always have driver's licenses or provincial ID. The explanation that there is abuse of the system by people getting health services when they no longer live in Alberta sounds dubious. From experience (including back when Albertans had to pay health insurance premiums) AHCIP rarely missed not paying when the address of persons who received health services didn't match that on their account. The most numerous billing rejection codes were always from the 30 group (address, spelling of names, spouses and children, et al).

These are the things you have to update.

Health card updates

Update your health information if you move, have children, turn 21 or 65, get married, divorced or other relationship changes.

www.alberta.ca

 

[Jarnhamar]

The explanation that there is abuse of the system by people getting health services when they no longer live in Alberta sounds dubious.

What hidden reasons could the Alberta government be pushing this for?

 

[dapaterson]

What hidden reasons could the Alberta government be pushing this for?

Always rally your supporters against The Other

 

[MilEME09]

Other than my objection on principle to the current government's move to scrap the (crappy) paper health card in favour of a "digital card" or to have it added to the driver's licence, the ones most at risk of losing (even temporarily) will be those at the edges of society. They will not always have driver's licenses or provincial ID. The explanation that there is abuse of the system by people getting health services when they no longer live in Alberta sounds dubious. From experience (including back when Albertans had to pay health insurance premiums) AHCIP rarely missed not paying when the address of persons who received health services didn't match that on their account. The most numerous billing rejection codes were always from the 30 group (address, spelling of names, spouses and children, et al).

These are the things you have to update.

Health card updates

Update your health information if you move, have children, turn 21 or 65, get married, divorced or other relationship changes.

www.alberta.ca

I also would be concerned about the increase of identity theft risks by putting health care numbers citizen and god only knows what else into one document

 

[daftandbarmy]

What hidden reasons could the Alberta government be pushing this for?

Hmmm... I wonder

14 Alberta government MLAs are facing recall efforts. What’s going on?​

14 Alberta government MLAs are facing recall efforts. What’s going on? | Globalnews.ca

A growing number of recall efforts against sitting MLAs in Alberta is raising pressure on Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party.

globalnews.ca

 

[lenaitch]

Ontario went to photo ID, renewable health cards in 1995, reportedly in an effort to curb fraud and misuse. The roll-out was lazy since the old, no-photo, no expiry date cards were still accepted until 2020. I understand those at the margins of society might be vulnerable but I have no heard of any instances where that has happened. Hospitals will not turn you away.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Ontario went to photo ID, renewable health cards in 1995, reportedly in an effort to curb fraud and misuse. The roll-out was lazy since the old, no-photo, no expiry date cards were still accepted until 2020. I understand those at the margins of society might be vulnerable but I have no heard of any instances where that has happened. Hospitals will not turn you away.

One of my concerns is was not that patients/clients would or would not be turned away by hospitals but that when we submitted bills for the services provided by the doctors who worked in our clinics that they would be paid by AHCIP. If a patient provided a non-active AHCIP number we only were notified when the weekly billing report came back with a reject code against the item. It then became our problem to find the delinquent patient and have them either put their account in order so we could resubmit the bill or to direct pay us. If the doctor didn't get paid then we (the clinic operators) didn't get paid - we took a percentage off the physician's billing for facility overhead and staff (and profit, of course).

 

[foresterab]

... The explanation that there is abuse of the system by people getting health services when they no longer live in Alberta sounds dubious. From experience (including back when Albertans had to pay health insurance premiums) AHCIP rarely missed not paying when the address of persons who received health services didn't match that on their account. The most numerous billing rejection codes were always from the 30 group (address, spelling of names, spouses and children, et al).
...

This has been a long standing cry especially during boom times over the number of folks who work in Alberta but retain residency in other provinces. For example a couple of years ago Fort Mac Murray was recieving funding based upon the federal census...of 60,000. The Province did a seperate survey and counted closer to 80,000. The municipality did a 3rd and counted over 120,000 due to the work camps that the federal government didn't count...but some individual camps had 10,000 residents on fly in/fly out shifts.

Now this is also common in many other provinces. I didn't change my ID over when living in Ont. or BC due to the short term temporary nature. But I think it's a bigger issue in Alberta than many other provinces due to the amount of inter-provincial migration present and also some fears over medical tourism/birth tourism as raised in BC and Ont.

Unfortunately I believe the bigger issue is the last 10 years of chaos in the Alberta Health system with updates/overhauls/centralization-> regions-> centralization and now splitting into multiple ministries causing greater pressure on the system due to high staff turnover. Things like replacing paper health cards become a low hanging "win" to show progress doing something while the rest of the system crumbles.

 

[Blackadder1916]

. . . the number of folks who work in Alberta but retain residency in other provinces.

To keep it specifically to the issue about doctor reimbursement I discussed in my previous post - if the folks working in Alberta but retaining residency in another jurisdiction seek medical services, they would have the health insurance card/number as well as ID from the other province. Bills for those medical services would be submitted (via AHCIP) to their province of residency for payment. There is a reciprocal inter-provincial billing agreement in place with the exception of Quebec.

 

[childs56]

To keep it specifically to the issue about doctor reimbursement I discussed in my previous post - if the folks working in Alberta but retaining residency in another jurisdiction seek medical services, they would have the health insurance card/number as well as ID from the other province. Bills for those medical services would be submitted (via AHCIP) to their province of residency for payment. There is a reciprocal inter-provincial billing agreement in place with the exception of Quebec.

you would think so, so many were using resources in Alberta then paying taxes elsewhere that the system needed some kind of a fix.