Most disabled Canadians won't qualify for national dental care plan, advocates say

Kevin Konnyu spent a decade navigating the health-care system before he was approved recently for financial assistance through Ontario's disability support program.

But even though his province recognizes his disability, that's not enough on its own to qualify him for coverage under Canada's new national public dental insurance program.

Instead, he has to prove to Ottawa he's disabled through several more applications.

"What more proof does the government need?" he said. "If you're recognized in any province or in any federal program as having a disability, then I don't know why that's not good enough to qualify you for basic dental coverage."

The federal government's Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) has been gradually expanding eligibility for subsidized dental care to low- and middle-income Canadian residents who don't have private insurance. On June 27, people with disabilities were told they could apply.

But advocates say only a fraction of people with disabilities will be covered.

A recent parliamentary budget officer report said up to 1.4 million severely disabled Canadians could be eligible for the proposed Canada Disability Benefit — a statistic advocates say indicates how many people with disabilities ought to have access to the CDCP.

The problem, advocates say, is that Ottawa is using its disability tax credit to decide whether someone qualifies for programs like the CDCP or the Canada Disability Benefit.

"The disability tax credit is increasingly becoming a gateway to social programs and it was never designed to be that," said Michelle Hewitt, board chair for the advocacy organization Disability Without Poverty. 

Administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, the tax credit provides a tax break largely to middle- and high-income earners with disabilities, and doesn't target those most in need, she said.

"The federal government sees it as the easiest list that they can have of disabled people that are severe and very severely disabled. But it's such a hard list to get on to," Hewitt said.

The tax credit has low uptake, mainly because the application process is onerous, Hewitt said.

To be approved for the tax credit, a person must have their doctor fill out a 16-page medical form, even if they've already completed similar medical documentation for other government disability supports. Hewitt said that's a major hurdle for people with disabilities, assuming they're lucky enough to have a doctor in the first place.

"All governments talk about wanting to make things as barrier-free as possible for disabled people," she said. "There are many hoops that disabled people have already jumped through."