OTTAWA – Canadian dentists are demanding details about Ottawa’s soon-to-be-announced federal dental insurance plan and how the federal government plans to preserve existing provincial and private coverage.
Eleven provincial and territorial dental associations have written a joint letter to the federal Minister of Health expressing serious concerns about a lack of information on critical aspects of the new plan.
“We have no indication that we are being heard,” the dental associations said in their letter, which was also sent to all members of Parliament this week.
They wrote that they feared the success of the new plan was being jeopardised “by a lack of meaningful consultation with the dentists we represent – those who will be expected to deliver on the government’s promises”.
The plan was born out of the Liberals’ supply and confidence agreement with the NDP last year, which called for federal dental coverage for middle- and low-income families.
The new insurance programme is expected to be announced before the end of the year, although claims may not be accepted until 2024.
The spring budget pledged $13 billion over the next five years to implement the national dental plan, which the federal government says will cover up to nine million people.
The government plans to start by covering uninsured people under the age of 18, seniors and people with disabilities under an annual family income threshold of $90,000.
More specific details of the new plan have yet to be released, and those details are important, the dental associations said.
“If we get the details wrong, there will be serious unintended consequences and access to oral health care in Canada will be undermined for generations,” the letter said.
Health Minister Mark Holland has said in recent weeks that he does not want to pre-empt an official announcement by revealing these details publicly.
The minister’s spokesperson said Thursday that there have been “extensive consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, including dental associations.
“We have expressed our willingness to continue to meet as we move forward with the Canadian Dental Plan, and we look forward to having more productive conversations,” Chris Aoun said in a statement Thursday.
The government did consult with dentists early on in the development of the program, said Dr. Brock Nicolucci, a practising dentist and chair of the board of the Ontario Dental Association.
“But unfortunately, it’s been crickets for the last year and a bit,” he said. “We’ve been kept in the dark.”
The Canadian Dental Association has advocated for its recommendations on the dental plan throughout the process, the national association said in a statement.
But because there are regional challenges across the country, the association has encouraged Health Canada to “meaningfully consult with provincial and territorial dental associations,” it said.
In particular, provincial dentists want to know how the government plans to prevent employers and private insurers from reducing coverage for low- and moderate-income families and referring patients to the federal program instead.
They also want to know how the new programme will be coordinated with existing public coverage provided by federal, provincial and municipal governments.
If people lose their existing coverage, it would seriously drive up the cost of the programme, said Nicolucci.
Dentists are also concerned about a lack of available dental hygienists and assistants to meet the increased demand.
In Ontario, the dental association says there is already a shortage of 5,500 hygienists and 3,400 dental assistants.
In their last federal budget, the Liberals set aside $250 million over three years to improve access to dental care, but the funding won’t kick in until 2025.
“We have this problem now. It’s current,” Nicolucci said. “To deal with it after the programme is released – that’s not enough.”
The Canadian Dental Association has also advised the government to develop a strategy to address the workforce challenges “and to do so in a way that does not impact or (delay) the delivery of care to patients.”
