Question Period Note: Dental Care

Government of Canada launch of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

• Seeing an oral health professional is important for our health, but can be expensive.
• One third of the people living in Canada do not have dental insurance. In 2022, one in four Canadians reported avoiding visiting an oral health care professional because of the cost. Delaying care can have wide-reaching impacts, including more expensive treatments and worsening health outcomes. 
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is a historic new investment – the largest social program to be launched in generations. CDCP will help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care for up to 9 million Canadian residents who fall below the $90,000 adjusted family net income range and who are uninsured.
• As of May 1, 2024, one million seniors over 70 years of age were able to access the oral health care they need. This number is growing everyday, as is the number of dedicated oral health providers ready to care for them.
IF PRESSED ON PLAN ROLL OUT
• As of May 1, the first million of enrolled seniors were able to start seeing an oral health provider. The start date to access oral health care covered under the CDCP varies based on when the application was received and when enrolment was completed.
• Sun Life will continue to enrol up to 500,000 new members each month. By July, we expect to have two million seniors out in their communities getting the oral health care they need. All seniors, children under 18 years, and adults with a disability will be enrolled in 2024, with all remaining eligible Canadian residents between the ages of 18 and 64 enroled by 2025.
IF PRESSED ON SERVICE VOLUMES
• Throughout the application process, Canadian residents will be able to count on client service from Service Canada through a dedicated call centre and/or by visiting a Service Canada Centre. Service Canada is also working through its established community outreach network to raise awareness and facilitate access to the CDCP with eligible populations.
• As of April 30, 2024, approximately 78% of applicants chose to self-serve using the automated Integrated Voice Recognition system. There was an average wait time of less than one minute for those requiring assistance from a Service Canada call centre agent.
• Oral health providers can confirm their participation in the CDCP by registering with Sun Life. This number grows everyday. In July, providers who do not wish to fully participate in the CDCP will be able to provide care on a claim by claim basis which should increase supply.

IF PRESSED ON SERVICES COVERED

• The CDCP will help cover a wide range of oral health care services to improve oral health outcomes, as recommended by an oral health provider, with flexibility to meet broad needs.
• Services that will be covered under the CDCP include
o preventive services,
o diagnostic services,
o restorative services,
o endodontic services,
o prosthodontic services,
o periodontal services, and
o oral surgery services.
IF PRESSED ON F-P/T ENGAGEMENT

• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is a national program is being implemented simultaneously across all thirteen provinces and territories. The Government of Canada has been and will continue to engage and collaborate with all provinces and territories, and other key partners, to guarantee a successful delivery of the Plan.
• The CDCP complements existing federal, provincial and territorial oral health programs by filling existing gaps in coverage.
• Coordination of benefits ensures no duplication of coverage.
• CDCP is the last payer in relation to federal social oral health programs.
• CDCP is the first payer in relation to most provincial and territorial oral health programs, except in Quebec,
• In New Brunswick, Alberta and Saskatchewan, at the request of the provincial government, we will not be coordinating benefits – patients in those provinces will qualify for one program or the other.
IF PRESSED ON THIRD PARTY CONTRACTOR

• Public Services and Procurement Canada ran an open, multi-stage, competitive procurement process to select a third-party benefits administrator. As a result, a contract was awarded to Sun Life to act as the benefits administrator for the CDCP.
• PSPC engaged the services of a third-party firm to act as an independent Fairness Monitor. The Fairness Monitor’s duties included, but were not limited to, observing all the procurement process; providing feedback to the Government of Canada on any potential fairness issues; and attesting to the fairness, openness, and transparency of the entire procurement process.
IF PRESSED ON DISPLACEMENT

• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is intended to help those who currently have no access to dental coverage, not to replace current employee benefits employers offer as part of their competitive compensation packages.

Budget 2023

Budget 2023 announced $13.1 billion over five years and $4.4 billion ongoing for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. It also allocated $250 million over three years, starting in 2025-26, and $75 million ongoing to Health Canada to establish an Oral Health Access Fund. The fund will complement the Canadian Dental Care Plan by investing in targeted measures to address oral health gaps among vulnerable populations and reduce barriers to accessing care, including in rural and remote communities. Lastly, Budget 2023 provided $23.1 million over two years, starting in 2023-24, to Statistics Canada to collect data on oral health and access to dental care in Canada. This will inform the rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Budget 2022 previously announced $5.3 billion over five years and $1.7 billion ongoing. A portion of these funds were allocated to launch the Canada Dental Benefit, a direct payment totalling up to $650 per year per child under 12 years of age. Applications for the first benefit period became available on December 1, 2022, and the second-year applications launched on July 1, 2023.

Current Dental Care Programs in Canada
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, approximately $17.6 billion was spent on dental services in 2021: 94% from private sector or out-of-pocket spending and 6% from public sector spending through existing federal and provincial plans.

Results released by Statistics Canada show that, in 2022, more than one third of Canadians reported that they had not visited a dental professional in the past 22 months. The findings also show that just under half (49%) of Canadians in the lowest income quintile reported having seen a dental professional in the past 12 months compared with 73% of those in the highest income quintile.

Private dental insurance plans and government social dental programs help reduce out-of-pocket dental expenses. However, over one third (35%) of Canadians reported not having had any dental care expenses covered by a private or public dental insurance plan.

Provinces and territories provide coverage for medically necessary oral health services. In addition, all provinces and territories offer some form of public dental coverage, although these programs are generally targeted at a particular group (e.g., people with low incomes, children, or seniors) and vary widely in coverage across the country.

The Government of Canada also provides dental coverage for public servants, members of the Armed Forces and veterans, people incarcerated in federal correctional facilities, some newcomers, registered First Nations people and recognized Inuit.

The interim Canada Dental Benefit (CDB), launched on December 1, 2022, was the first step toward fulfilling the Government’s Budget 2022 dental care commitment. The CDB provides direct, tax-free payments up to $650 per child under 12 years of age, and up to a maximum of $1,300 over two years.
There are two benefit periods for the CDB. The first interim benefit period, which ran from December 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, helped approximately 323,000 children get brighter smiles and healthier teeth. Applications are currently being received for the second interim benefit period, which will run from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. As of May 1, 2024, over 353,000 children have received oral health care during this period.
The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) was formally launched in December 2023. To meet anticipated demand and ensure a smooth process, the CDCP is being rolled out using a phased approach, starting with seniors.
Automated phone applications were initially used for seniors aged 70 and above. This system was decommissioned on April 30, 2024.
On May 1, 2024, applications were opened for eligible seniors 65 and older through an online portal.
Also on May 1, 2024, Sun Life began processing digital claims, as the first million enrolled seniors began accessing oral health care under the CDCP.
Adults between 18 and 64 with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate and children under the age of 18 will be able to apply online as of June 2024. All remaining eligible Canadian residents between the ages of 18 and 64 will be able to apply online in 2025.