Dentist holding dental equipment (File photo/143817967 © Ittipon | Dreamstime.com)

By Pete McIntyre

national plan

‘The devil is always in the details’: MP has concerns with national dental plan

Dec 18, 2023 | 5:00 AM

The Member of Parliament for the North Okanagan-Shuswap said he needs to see more details on the federal government’s new national dental plan which he says could have negative impacts for some Canadians.

Mel Arnold of the Conservative Party said a lot of people could lose out on their dental coverage through their current private health care plans.

“There may be private health care providers that will drop dental care from their plans if there are other ways of shedding those pieces from private plans, and they may be passed over to the public plan now,” Arnold told Vernon Matters.

Arnold said that’s one of the concerns the Conservatives have consistently raised about this plan and a pharmacare plan.

“A large majority of Canadians have coverage in one form or another, whether it’s through their employment, or if they are low income and covered in income assistance or other programs,” Arnold said.

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The veteran MP is looking to read the fine print of the Liberal-NDP program to get more information.

“I haven’t had a chance to look at it fully yet, but as we know, the devil is always in the details, and this government is very slow to roll out the details, including on this program.”

An association of health insurance providers has similar concerns, warning it might not be worth it for small businesses to provide dental benefits to some employees once the plan launches, and is calling for a tax credit to convince them not to drop their coverage.

The $13 billion insurance program will start covering routine dentistry costs next year for people with an annual household income of less than $90,000. Children under 18 and some seniors will the first groups to benefit before the program is expanded to all eligible low- and middle-income Canadians in 2025.

Applications for seniors aged 87 and over are expected to open this week, and other age groups will be able to apply in the new year.

The federal government will cover their costs for services like cleaning, polishing, examinations, X-rays, fillings, root canal treatments and complete and partial removable dentures.