Sask. dental providers and seniors raise concerns over federal dental care plan
With the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) set to roll out on May 1, many dental care providers have concerns and unanswered questions about the plan.
Most providers across the country have not signed up for the program and this is leaving seniors wondering where they will get their coverage from.
“Everywhere I went, no we are not in it, no we are not in it,” said Dennis Lisoway when he tried to find a dentist a part of the plan.
Lisoway said he made tons of phone calls as well as visited many clinics in Regina.
“There was a few of them that explained, ‘No, we didn’t like the rate that they wanted to pay us, and no we didn’t like the plan.’”
Fortunately, he did find a provider enrolled in the plan.
Other concerns providers have include enrolment.
“There is a concern that this enrolment part and it’s not what happens on a normal dental plan. A patient has a relationship between the dentist and the patient and there is not a relationship between the dentist and the government,” said Dr. Heather Carr, past president of the Canadian Dental Association.
Providers are also worried how they will be paid for their services from the federal government.
“To my knowledge as of last week, enrolment numbers were quite low. It’s not that the dentists don’t want to care for the patients but it’s that we need to know exactly what we are agreeing to and how it’s going to impact our patients and our office staff,” added Carr.
“While the CDCP is an important step towards enhancing access to care for eligible Canadians and the elimination of sign up requirements is good news, our concerns and questions with the plan have not yet been fully addressed or answered,” said the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan in a statement to CTV News.
More than 5,000 oral health providers have signed up and agreed to the program, according to the federal government.
Changes to the plan have been promised by the government, however, those changes will not take effect until July.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.