More than 70% of dentists now accepting patients through Canadian Dental Care Plan
CBC
More than 70 per cent of dentists are now accepting patients through Canada's new public dental insurance program — a significant increase over the 50 per cent participation rate reported a month ago.
The federal government attributes the higher uptake to changes it introduced on July 8 that allow dental clinics to submit claims without officially registering as providers of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).
The changes permit dentists, denturists and independent hygienists to perform work on patients covered by the CDCP and to be reimbursed by Ottawa on a case-by-case basis.
Health Minister Mark Holland said more than 6,500 oral health-care providers have chosen to take part in the plan since Ottawa changed the rules last month.
"We've been absolutely blown away by the participation," Holland told CBC News on Tuesday.
As of today, 16,612 dentists, 1,746 denturists and 857 independent dental hygienists are accepting CDCP patients. That's more than 19,000 oral health-care providers out of what Health Canada estimates is a potential pool of 25,170.
Holland said more than 75 per cent of all eligible oral health-care professionals are participating, while dentists are taking part at a slightly lower rate of more than 70 per cent.
"We're working with the associations to make sure that we answer every hygienist, denturist and dentist question, that we work on any obstacles that we have. We're not stopping until we get to 100 per cent," Holland told a press conference at an Ottawa dental clinic Wednesday.
The number of dental clinics signing up was low when the program was launched, prompting concerns about its ability to meet patient demand.
Dental associations initially took issue with the paperwork and contracts Ottawa required them to complete in order to register. In response, Ottawa offered clinics the option of accepting patients on a case-by-case basis, allowing them to keep current patients who otherwise would need to seek out clinics registered with the program.
Holland has pitched the option as a way for dentists to try the program out before signing on fully. He also has assured dentists that submitting claims on a case-by-case basis will be a permanent option going forward.
The Canadian Dental Association said Tuesday it wants the CDCP to succeed.
"The federal government has addressed some immediate and short-term concerns, and we are committed to continuing our work with them to further enhance the CDCP for the future," a statement from the association said.
The dental association said each dentist must decide whether they want to participate, based on what is best for their practice and patients.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
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