More than one million Canadians now receive dental care under the new national public insurance system, with each patient receiving an average of $730 for oral health services.
“We won’t get to this goal overnight, but through the efforts of each and every one of us, we’ve reached one million people,” Health Minister Mark Holland said Thursday at a community center in Scarborough, Ont.
The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) helps cover the cost of dental visits for people who do not have access to private insurance and whose household income is less than $90,000.
Health Canada says the plan has paid $732 million in dental costs to date. The program is expected to cost $13 billion over the next five years.
CDCP is currently available to seniors, children under 18, and people with valid disability tax credits. To date, 2.7 million Canadian residents have been approved to participate in the plan. The plan will be significantly expanded to cover an expected total of nine million Canadians starting in 2025.
Not all Canadians will be eligible in January 2025
Asked by CBC about adding another six million people to the CDCP in just a few months, Holland said, “The exact date is still under consideration.”
“We are considering expanding to additional cohorts in early 2025,” he said.
So far, the federal government has not identified specific groups that will be targeted in the new year. This is what is currently being said “All remaining eligible Canadian residents” will be eligible “beginning in 2025.”
“We are in the process of ongoing evaluation to make sure we are listening and incorporating feedback from oral health care providers as we bring new people online.” Mr. Holland said.
CDCP currently covers oral health care services such as cleanings, filings, and dentures. Starting Nov. 1, coverage will expand to include more complex and expensive procedures that require prior approval, such as the initial placement of crowns and partial dentures.
“We need to make sure we get this done,” Holland said of the expanded service starting tomorrow.
“We’re going to evaluate that and then we’ll be in a position to decide exactly when to roll out the next cohort,” he said.
“But we are absolutely committed to expanding this to all Canadians as soon as possible in 2025.”
After initially seeing low acceptance from dentists, Health Canada announced that 89 per cent of oral health care providers (22,340 total nationwide) are now accepting patients through the program.
Starting tomorrow, insurance claims submitted on paper will also be accepted. Previously, only providers who could submit claims online could participate.
Participation in the program for dentists, dentists, and dental hygienists is voluntary.
