(Ottawa) Federal Health Minister Mark Holland announced changes to the new dental plan on Wednesday in an effort to encourage more dentists, hygienists and oral health care providers to participate.
Dentist and hygienist associations say their members have been slow to sign up to provide care under the new federal program, even though 1.7 million seniors have already done so.
They have expressed concerns about the amount the government plans to reimburse for services and the administrative burden the program will impose on their staff.
The Liberals say 5,000 dental care providers – including dentists, hygienists and denturists – have registered so far.
Following further consultations, the Liberal government will allow providers to bill for their services, one claim at a time, without opting into the program, starting in July, Holland said.
“I think this will considerably increase the number of participants,” he assured.
The $13 billion dental program is a key part of the Liberals’ deal with the New Democratic Party (NDP) two years ago to prevent a snap election. It is expected to provide dental coverage to as many as 9 million low- and middle-income families by the time it is fully implemented in 2025.
The delay in dentist registrations has inspired further attacks from conservatives, who until now had remained silent on the dental care program.
“Their dental care debacle is failing Canadians,” charged the official opposition health critic, Stephen Ellis, during an exchange in question period on Tuesday.
He alleged there were only eight dentists registered in the program in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador out of a possible 1,170.
Holland said because of the changes, dentists will not need to be registered for the program to be successful.