Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky announced on Wednesday that he has delayed the implementation of changes to the seniors' drug program. (CBC)Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky rolled back another unpopular health care decision Wednesday by announcing a delay to seniors' drug plan changes that were to take effect in July.

The plan has been delayed to make changes to regulations and legislation, as well as to get it in line with other programs for seniors. The current plan, where seniors pay 30 per cent of the cost of each prescription to a maximum of $25, will stay in place.

"We do have proposals for changes that would bring in a new seniors' drug program that are not yet ready to go ahead," Zwozdesky said, "And we'll take the time necessary to review everything, make sure that we get it right and that we haven't rushed it along and come to the wrong conclusions."

Zwozdesky couldn't say how long it would take to review the proposal or whether anything might be substantially changed.

Since becoming health minister in January, Zwozdesky has reversed a number of unpopular decisions by Alberta Health Services, including the closure of nearly 300 hospital beds in Calgary and Edmonton and the closure of 146 of 246 psychiatric beds at Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.

Earlier this month, Zwozdesky put a temporary hold on a plan to centralize ambulance dispatch services so it could be reviewed.

Higher income seniors were to pay premiums

The changes, which were first announced in December 2008, meant higher-income Alberta seniors would have to pay a premium for their drug coverage. Single seniors with incomes under $21,325 and families with incomes less than $42,650 would get their drugs for free.

Following a public outcry, the government made minor adjustments to the program about four months later.

David Eggen, executive director of the Friends of Medicare, said his group was planning to launch a campaign against the drug plan changes next week. Eggen also expressed his dissatisfaction with the changes when he met with the minister Tuesday.

"I told him in no uncertain terms what we have been hearing from literally thousands of seniors across the province and it was absolute dynamite," Eggen said. "And so I'm sure he's getting the same message."

Under the April 2009 changes, single seniors with a taxable income of $12,000 a year and senior families with a combined taxable income of $24,000 or less would have had their medications covered at no cost.

From there, the government was to use a sliding scale to calculate how much higher-income seniors would pay.

Single seniors with incomes more than $48,001 and senior families with incomes over $96,001 would pay premiums of $63.50 and $118.50 per month respectively. They would have been required to pay 20 per cent of each perscription's cost up to $15.