Read the following article from a website.
In parts of Alberta, a patient who needs a new hip now waits more than a year for surgery, up from about four months a decade ago. This month the health ministry asked for public comments on a proposal that would let specialists spend part of each week operating in private clinics while keeping their hospital jobs. Comments close on November 30, and the ministry says a decision will follow in the spring.
Dr. Rohan Sterling, an orthopaedic surgeon in Lethbridge, says the waste is easy to see. “Every afternoon I walk past empty operating rooms, and every morning I see patients who cannot climb their own stairs,” he said. “I could do three more hips a week if someone gave me the room and the staff.” Sterling would accept a cap on each surgeon’s private hours and a rule that emergency and cancer care stay fully public.
Liesbeth Tobin, who studies fairness in health systems at a university in Edmonton, warns that caps sound better than they work. “Where I have seen this tried, the public waiting list got longer, not shorter,” Tobin said. “Doctors are human. If one hour pays twice as much across the street, that is where the hours go.” She would spend the money on extra evening shifts in public hospitals instead.
Wolfgang Tessier, who plans hospital budgets for the ministry, says the details of the contracts matter more than the label. “The province already pays private clinics for some eye and knee procedures, so the line is not as clean as either side claims,” he explained. “Any deal must require clinics to report public and private hours every month.” Yaretzi Salgado, a patient navigator who helps people through the system, hears every day from those who are waiting. “One of my clients lost her job because she could not stand long enough to work her shifts,” Salgado said. “She does not care who owns the building. She cares about the date.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph three mainly gives 2..
At present, Dr. Rohan Sterling sees 3..
Overall, the article suggests that 4..
Wolfgang Tessier’s argument would likely be supported by 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: letting surgeons also work in private clinics
Why this is correct: The ministry wants comments on a proposal to let specialists operate in private clinics while keeping their hospital jobs.
Passage Reference: a proposal that would let specialists spend part of each week operating in private clinics while keeping their hospital jobs
Tips: The main subject is the proposal that every quoted speaker is reacting to. Make sure your choice is not a different change that the article never raises.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan to close small rural hospitals: Nobody plans to close any hospital. The debate is about surgeons’ hours.
- a plan to train more surgeons: Training new surgeons is not discussed. The proposal is about where today’s specialists work.
- rising pay for hospital nurses: Nurses’ pay is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: a researcher’s doubt that caps will hold
Passage Reference: Liesbeth Tobin, who studies fairness in health systems at a university in Edmonton, warns that caps sound better than they work.
Why this is correct: “Paragraph three” quotes Tobin, who studies fairness in health systems. She warns that caps sound better than they work and gives her reason.
Tips: Reread “Paragraph three” and describe its job in a short phrase of your own. Compare that phrase with each option.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a surgeon’s offer to do more hip operations: Sterling says he could do three more hips a week. He is quoted before “Paragraph three”.
- a navigator’s story about one of her clients: Salgado tells this story after “Paragraph three”. Tobin does not talk about any client.
- the wait times in other provinces: The article talks only about Alberta. No other province’s waits are given.
Correct Answer: unused surgery space while patients wait
Passage Reference: Every afternoon I walk past empty operating rooms, and every morning I see patients who cannot climb their own stairs
Why this is correct: Sterling says that every afternoon he walks past empty operating rooms. Every morning he sees patients who cannot climb their own stairs.
Tips: Work through Sterling’s quotes. Keep the option his words support, and drop those he never mentions.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a hospital with too many surgeons: Sterling sees rooms with no surgeon in them. Nobody says a hospital has too many surgeons.
- a public waiting list that grows shorter: The reporter says waits have grown to more than a year. Nothing shows the list getting shorter.
- extra evening shifts in public hospitals: Tobin would pay for extra evening shifts instead. Nobody says they exist now.
Correct Answer: the waits are too long, but people differ on the fix
Passage Reference: In parts of Alberta, a patient who needs a new hip now waits more than a year for surgery
Why this is correct: The reporter says hip patients now wait more than a year. Sterling wants private hours with a cap, Tobin wants evening shifts, and Tessier wants monthly reports.
Tips: Hold every option up against the article as a whole, including Sterling, Tobin, Tessier and Salgado. Reject an option that rests on only one speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- doctors will always choose the better-paid hours: Tobin says this, but it is one speaker’s view. Sterling would accept a cap to stop it.
- private hours are popular but cost too much to try: Nobody in the article says the plan costs too much to try.
- the new plan would soon end all waiting lists: Nobody promises an end to waiting lists. Tobin says lists got longer where the idea was tried.
Correct Answer: a report that some operators keep poor records of their hours
Passage Reference: Any deal must require clinics to report public and private hours every month.
Why this is correct: Tessier says any deal must make clinics report their public and private hours every month. Proof that some operators keep poor records would show why he wants that rule.
Tips: Reread Tessier’s quoted lines. For each option, decide whether it would make his case stronger or would really help a different speaker.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a survey of surgeons who want more room and staff: This fits Sterling, who says he could do more with room and staff. It does not touch Tessier’s point about contracts.
- a study where public lists grew after private hours began: This fits Tobin, who saw public lists grow longer. Tessier talks about what contracts should require.
- a poll of patients who care only about the date: This fits Salgado’s client, who cares about the date. It says nothing about reporting hours.
Correct Answer: four months
Passage Reference: up from about four months a decade ago
Why this is correct: The wait for a new hip was about four months a decade ago.
Tips: The article gives two waiting times. Check which one belongs to the past.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three months: Three months is not in the article.
- six months: Six months is not in the article.
- nine months: Nine months is not in the article.
Correct Answer: November 30
Passage Reference: Comments close on November 30
Why this is correct: Comments on the proposal close on November 30.
Tips: You need a date. Find the deadline the ministry set for the public.
Why the other options are wrong:
- November 15: This date is not in the article.
- December 1: This date is not in the article.
- December 15: This date is not in the article.
Correct Answer: cancer
Passage Reference: a rule that emergency and cancer care stay fully public
Why this is correct: Sterling would accept a rule that emergency and cancer care stay fully public.
Tips: The commenter is repeating one of the surgeon’s conditions. Find the two kinds of care he would keep public.
Why the other options are wrong:
- heart: Heart care is not mentioned in the article.
- stroke: Stroke care is not mentioned in the article.
- maternity: Maternity care is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: knee
Passage Reference: The province already pays private clinics for some eye and knee procedures
Why this is correct: Tessier says the province already pays private clinics for some eye and knee procedures.
Tips: The commenter means the budget planner. Find his example of private work the province already pays for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hip: Hips come up in other parts of the article, but not in Tessier’s example.
- shoulder: Shoulder procedures are not mentioned in the article.
- ankle: Ankle procedures are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: job
Passage Reference: One of my clients lost her job
Why this is correct: Salgado says one of her clients lost her job because she could not stand long enough to work her shifts.
Tips: Find the navigator’s story about one client. Check what that client could no longer keep.
Why the other options are wrong:
- apartment: Salgado does not say her client lost an apartment.
- business: A business is not mentioned in the article.
- savings: Savings are not mentioned in the article.
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