Federal dental plan toothless: Manitoba dentists

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This article was published 03/07/2024 (810 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The association representing Manitoba dentists worry the administration of a new federal program will inhibit a patient’s freedom to choose their dental provider.

“We want to see a system that all health-care providers can use to efficiently and easily administer the plan on behalf of their patients,” said Manitoba Dental Association president Daron Baxter.

The $13-billion, federally funded Canadian Dental Care Plan will provide residents who earn less than $90,000 with dental insurance, should they not have private coverage.

As of July 8, oral health-care providers will be able to bill Sun Life Canada insurance directly for services provided on a claim-by-claim basis without formally signing up for the program.

To take part in the program, dentists must file claims through Sun Life, which has been put in charge of the plan. Dentists will not have the ability to run the program unless they register with the provider network.

Baxter says the new program may separate patients from their dentists should patients qualify but dentists don’t buy in to the program.

“This plan creates a system that restricts patients into choosing their oral health-care provider from a limited list,” Baxter said. “Patients don’t have that full freedom of choice.”

On their website, Sun Life lists 52 family dentists in Winnipeg that are taking part in the program. Participation in the plan is voluntary.

The program currently applies to seniors aged 65 and over, children under 18 and adults with a valid disability tax credit certificate.

Statistics on claims filed through the plan since its launch in May and number of patients deemed eligible were not available Wednesday.

Baxter and the dental association have proposed the federal government remove the requirement to deliver the program solely through Sun Life.

“We’ve had a lot of feedback that patients are seeking care but their provider has not yet signed up for the program … this is the best scenario for patients in their own health autonomy,” she said.

A request for comment to Health Canada went unanswered Wednesday.

Dentists are eager to participate in the program, but insist on doing so in a way that supports a patient’s access to care, the Baxter said. The claim-by-claim billing gives patients a little more freedom of choice in dental care, but without a single, non-registration program, the national plan could fall flat, she added.

“We have some registered dentists, some not, and that created barriers for patients.”

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca