The federal government has just announced that applications for the new Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) will soon expand to include more Canadians without access to a private dental care plan, which now includes seniors over the age of 72.
The CDCP is a new federal plan that aims to help ease the financial barriers for up to nine million Canadians currently without private dental insurance coverage so they’re able to access oral health care.
Since the initial launch of the program in December 2023, Employment and Social Development Canada noted that over 400,000 Canadian seniors have already been approved for the new plan.
“Every Canadian should have dental care, especially seniors. The Canadian Dental Care Plan has already got hundreds of thousands of uninsured seniors approved for dental care, and more are joining every day. Because health care isn’t just about years, it’s about quality of life,” announced The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s federal minister for seniors.
Service Canada will start delivering letters inviting seniors between the ages of 72 – 76 to apply for the new plan starting on Feb. 1.
In January, Canadians between the ages of 77 – 86 were invited to apply, and seniors aged 70 to 71 will be contacted later in March of this year.
Starting in May 2024, the application process will switch to an online format, and will open to all eligible seniors over the age of 65. Following this, persons with a valid Disability Tax Credit and children under the age of 18 will be able to apply online in June 2024.
All remaining eligible Canadians between the ages of 18 and 64 will be able to apply using the online format starting in 2025.
This graduated program is meant to ensure a smooth transitional experience, according to Employment and Social Development Canada.
After a request is approved by Service Canada, applicants will have their information forwarded to Sun Life who administers the program. The Sun Life insurance company then takes over the enrolment process and eligible applicants are sent a welcome package, where the specific details of their plan are explained.
Qualifying residents will then be able to see a dentist or other oral health provider as early as May 2024. Individual coverage starting dates will vary though, as they are based on when the enrolment process has been completed.
It’s important to note that expenses incurred prior to the coverage start date will not be covered by the new plan.
Canadians who are enrolled in the program can only use this new coverage with dentists who have opted into the plan. Federally, some dentists have expressed concerns about the government’s lack of precise details regarding the plan’s logistics, which includes the exact amount of coverage provided by the CDCP.
In response to this, Federal Health Minister Mark Holland has expressed that he intends to provide dentists with fair compensation under the new program. No further details have been announced yet.
Once put into practice, the CDCP will be the biggest government program launched “in generations,” according to Employment and Social Development Canada. Budget 2023 announced that $13 billion will be invested into the program over five years starting in 2023-24, with an ongoing $4.4 billion to implement the CDCP.
To qualify, residents must have an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000, not have access to employer, pension-sponsored, or private dental insurance, and they must have last year’s tax return filed.
Dental clinics in Moose Jaw have not yet enrolled in the program as of Feb. 1, but an announcement is expected sometime in early to mid-May once a recommendation has been granted by The College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan.
For more information about the new dental care plan, visit Canada.ca/dental.
