2024-02-09 19:49:43
The Association of Dental Surgeons of Quebec (ACDQ) is asking its members not to register as providers in the new federal dental care plan, Radio-Canada has learned. Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) is urging Ottawa to resolve the impasse or the Liberals might pay the price.
We suggest you wait for our instructions before registering, indicates the president of the ACDQ, Carl Tremblay, in a letter addressed to the members of the Association, of which Radio-Canada has obtained a copy. He affirms that several formal requests from the group remain unanswered following intense negotiations with the government.
We asked the government to remove from its various communications, including its website, any mention stipulating that dental care providers are ”encouraged” to respect the fee schedule [du fédéral], writes the president in his press release. This formulation implies [qu’Ottawa] expects dentists to offer their services at a discount, to the detriment of their remuneration, continues Dr. Carl Tremblay.
Government sources confirmed to Radio-Canada that Ottawa strongly discourages oral care professionals from charging beyond the rates established under the Canadian plan. Even people whose annual family income is less than $70,000 will have no guarantee of free treatment, because dentists may charge additional fees to their clients.
The president of the ACDQ urges the government to inform the population that the new federal dental insurance plan does not offer free access to dental care. He specifies that the Order of Dentists of Quebec had confirmed that no discount might be granted to a group [particulier] due to the code of ethics.
Disagreement over prices
He reminds dentists in his missive that they can charge their usual rates to their clients, in particular out of concern for fairness towards other patients who are not covered by the federal dental care plan.
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Carl Tremblay is the president of the Association of Dental Surgeons of Quebec. (Archive photo)
Photo: Courtesy: Association of Dental Surgeons of Quebec
In a written statement, Dr. Carl Tremblay deplores that the government has chosen to establish, for its own reasons, a fee schedule well below the fee schedules of the provinces and territories.
It is the government’s responsibility to explain things transparently to Canadians rather than leaving it up to dentists to do it.
Carl Tremblay also deplores the fact that Canadians eligible for the federal insurance plan are obliged to be treated by a dentist who participates in the program. In his message to ACDQ members, he points out that patients are losing [ainsi] their freedom to choose the dentist they trust. The president of the Association claims to have requested that dentists who have not joined the program be able to treat registered patients and that they be reimbursed by the federal government.
The provincial group also expresses reservations regarding the involvement of Sun Life as administrator of the insurance plan. The ACDQ wants to prevent reimbursement requests from this intermediary from generating unnecessary tasks for dentists.
For all these reasons, the ACDQ therefore recommended that dentists wait [des] clarifications before registering as a program provider, adds Dr. Carl Tremblay in a statement.
Liberals must find a solution
Canada’s NDP is urging the Liberal government to find solutions to these problems so that the federal dental insurance plan can be deployed. This program is a condition imposed by the NDP so that it supports Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government in key votes in the House of Commons.
It’s essential that it moves forward, […] if the Liberals do not respect this, they will have to pay the price and the consequences.
The deputy leader of the NDP, Alexandre Boulerice, recalls that his party imposed the condition that families who earn less than [70 000 $] per year have access to dental care completely free of charge.
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The deputy leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, Alexandre Boulerice. (Archive photo)
Photo : The Canadian Press / Graham Hughes
In an interview, Mr. Boulerice said that the federal government, thanks to the work of the NDP, will pay the bill for these people and we do not want there to be additional costs.
If people don’t have access to dentists, then it’s not paid for by the federal government like […] agreed with Justin Trudeau’s government, it might be an irritant, it will pose a problem.
The government on the defensive
The office of the federal Minister of Health assures that the federal government will continue to collaborate with oral health professionals during the implementation of the [régime] to ensure Canadians can get the care they need.
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Federal Health Minister Mark Holland. (Archive photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld
In a written statement, Mark Holland’s office says it has conducted constructive consultations with all oral health professionals and regulatory bodies, including provincial and territorial dental associations.
With the collaboration of Louka Jacques
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