Fred Horne says there’s nothing to be done about past expense claims
Provincial Health Minister Fred Horne says that expenses inappropriately claimed by former Alberta Health Services executives more than two years ago can never be recouped.
In an August 13 press release Horne explained that government attorneys at Duncan Craig LLP have determined employment contracts combined with the prohibitive cost of potential civil suits mean the provincial government would be wise to write off questionable expenses reimbursed to former executives at AHS and the former regional health authorities.
“Under the Limitations Act AHS cannot recover claims that are more than two years old. The legal opinion also states that the chances of a successful lawsuit in such cases would be minimal” Horne says.
He adds “I am disappointed that any improper claims that may have been made by previous health care administrators cannot be recovered but the changes our government made to the expense policy will prevent anything similar in the future.”
An auditor general report released in February called on the provincial government to monitor administrative expenses more closely after it found Alberta Health Services staff claimed more than $100 million on travel and incidental expenses between April 2011 and August 2012. The report questioned the cost effectiveness of staff activities that could rack up such a bill especially since it included $116390 for a realtor’s commission $4600 in photo radar tickets and $14639 in unexplained “prohibited expenses.”
Alberta’s health budget aims to reduce administrative spending by $35 million over the next three years.
