Question Period Note: Dental Care

N/A

• Government of Canada commitment on dental care.
KEY MESSAGES
• Having access to quality dental care is an integral part of overall health.
• Budget 2023 announced $13 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $4.4 billion ongoing for the implementation of a comprehensive national dental care plan that will improve access to dental care for all eligible Canadians who make less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,000.
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan will be a federally delivered program, supported by a third-party service provider with expertise in insurance and benefit administration.
• The next step will be to select and award a contract to the third-party service provider.
IF PRESSED ON DENTAL CARE ELIGIBILITY (AMENDMENTS VIA THE BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT) …
• Health Canada remains committed to fully implementing the Dental Plan by 2025. When launched, the application process will be informed by taxpayer information (e.g., net family income-levels, family status) and information on employer-provided dental coverage (a new information requirement in the Budget Implementation Act).
• To support the Canadian Dental Care Plan, the Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-47) included two legislative updates to permit the effective administration of the Dental Plan, namely:
1. Standalone legislation – the Dental Care Measures Act – was proposed to permit the collection of the Social Insurance Number from applicants and the reporting of employer-provided dental coverage via the T4 and T4A slips.
2. Amendments to the Income Tax Act were proposed to allow the Minister of National Revenue to share taxpayer information with the Ministers of Health and Employment and Social Development (Service Canada) for the administration and verification of compliance with the Dental Plan.
• The legislative amendments would allow eligible Canadians to have a streamlined application and enrollment process, as verifications could be handled by Health Canada and Service Canada without placing burdens on Canadians to provide additional documentation and attestations.
IF PRESSED ON THE CANADA DENTAL BENEFIT…
• In 2022, the Government of Canada passed legislation for the interim Canada Dental Benefit. This temporary initiative provides direct payments to eligible applicants of up to $650 per child under 12 years of age and up to $1,300 over two years.
• As of May 19, 2023, 294,030 Canadian children have benefited from the Budget 2022 targeted investment of up to $938 million.
IF PRESSED ON TIMING…
• The Government of Canada is currently finalizing the requirement of the plan.
• The next step will be to select and award a contract to the third-party service provider.
• More details will be shared once available.
IF PRESSED ON FPT ENGAGEMENT…
• The Government of Canada is committed to working collaboratively with provinces and territories, and key stakeholders, to improve oral health for Canadians.
• The Government of Canada is working with provinces and territories and diverse groups of oral health representatives to inform the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Budget 2023

As previously noted, 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, which 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. Part of these funds were allocated to launch the interim Canada Dental Benefit, a direct payment totalling up to $650 per year per child under 12 years of age. Applications for the Benefit became available on December 1, 2022 and the second year applications will open from July 1, 2023.

Current Dental Care Programs in Canada
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, $15.9 billion was spent on dental services in 2018: 55% was covered through private insurance; 39% was paid out-of-pocket; and 6% was publicly funded. About two-thirds of Canadians receive dental coverage through employment-based private health insurance plans.

Provinces and territories provide coverage for medically necessary oral health services. In additional, 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 currently 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.

Comprehensive data does not exist on unmet dental care needs at a national level in Canada. A campaign led by the Canadian Association of Public Health Dentistry suggests that 1 in 5 people (6 million Canadians) are not receiving needed dental care due to cost, and that Canadians with financial resources or insurance are more likely to experience good oral health.

According to the Canadian Dental Association, an estimated 2.26 million school days are missed each year due to dental-related illness, and tooth decay accounts for one-third of all day surgeries performed on children between the ages of one and five in Canada. As well, much of the burden of dental disease is concentrated in disadvantaged children: those from low-income families; Indigenous children; new immigrants; and children with special health care needs.

• Budget 2023 announced $13 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $4.4 billion ongoing for the implementation and the federal delivery of a long-term, comprehensive national dental care plan that will improve access to dental care for all eligible Canadians who make less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,0000.
• The interim Canada Dental Benefit, launched on December 1, 2022, was the first step toward fulfilling the government’s Budget 2022 dental care commitment. The Canada Dental Benefit provides direct payments to eligible applicants of up to $650 per child under 12 years of age and up to $1300 over two years.
• As a result of the Invitation to Qualify (ITQ), the Minister of Health and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement announced on January 30, 2023 the three suppliers qualified [Express Scripts Canada, Medavie Inc., and Sun Life Financial Inc.] to participate in the next phase of the procurement process to refine the requirements for the delivery of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, which will be administered through a third-party service provider.