In the end, it took seven years for Quebec to come to an agreement with the province’s dental surgeons for the provision of services covered by the public plan.
The agreement between the government and the Association of Dental Surgeons of Quebec (ACDQ) expired in April 2015. The President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, announced Friday in a press release that a new agreement has finally been concluded. with the 4300 Quebec dental surgeons.
It is under this agreement that children under 10 and social assistance recipients can receive free dental care, since they are covered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec.
No details have leaked out as to the content of this agreement, which has yet to be submitted to the members, but the main stumbling block in the negotiations concerned the recognition of the operating costs of dental clinics. According to information obtained by The Canadian Press, the issue is indeed included in the agreement, but it has not been resolved to the full satisfaction of the dentists.
Disengagement and re-engagement
The conflict had led 1,400 dentists to withdraw from the public dental care plan in mid-February 2020, just before the outbreak of the health crisis. This disengagement did not deprive the beneficiaries of free dental care, but caused administrative headaches for the RAMQ.
However, a month later, on March 18, 2020, the 1,400 dentists in question had re-entered the public plan so as not to add to the difficulties of the network in the midst of the first wave.
In her press release, Minister LeBel said she was “very happy with this mutually satisfactory agreement for the parties” and she saluted “their remarkable efforts to come to the conclusion of it. Our dentists are important and guarantee access to quality care and services for all citizens of Quebec. »
For his part, the president of the Association of Dental Surgeons, Dr. Carl Tremblay, issued a brief comment by e-mail: “At the end of five arduous years of negotiation with the government regarding a framework agreement that expired April 2015, we finally have in our hands a proposal that we can present to our members at our next general meeting. »
Dr. Tremblay also wanted to underline “the dedication of the members of the ACDQ” for having continued to provide care to the beneficiaries for seven years despite the absence of an agreement.