Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

Dental-care program hits 1 million patients in first six months, coverage expands

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Oct, 2024 09:43 AM
  • Dental-care program hits 1 million patients in first six months, coverage expands

A million Canadians have received care under the federal dental-care plan six months after the program began, Health Minister Mark Holland said Thursday. 

Starting on Friday, the program will also cover more complex procedures. 

That means people who have coverage under the federal program can request pre-authorization for things like crowns and the initial placement of partial dentures, as well as what the program deems high-need or complex conditions. 

Paper claims will also be accepted, something Holland said will mean that more dentists and oral care providers are eligible to work under the program. 

Once these expansions are up and running, Holland said the government is on track to begin expanding who can get coverage under the program next year. 

"We haven't set on the exact date, that's obviously still being figured out. We are obviously tracking very closely how pre-authorization and paper claims go. But early in 2025 is when we're looking to expand to additional cohorts," Holland said. 

The program is currently available for seniors, adults on the federal disability tax credit and children under 18. Currently, 2.7 million Canadians are registered to receive care under the program. 

Holland said the goal is to expand the eligibility as quickly as possible. 

"We are absolutely committed in 2025, as fast as possible, to expand this to all Canadians."

Eighty-nine per cent of oral health providers in the country are providing some form of care under the program, according to Holland. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Two plead guilty to B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik

Two plead guilty to B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik
Two men charged in the killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a British Columbia court. The courthouse in New Westminster confirmed the pleas from Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez in the 2022 shooting of Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 over the 1985 bombings that killed 331 people. 

Two plead guilty to B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik

Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership

Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership
The House of Commons returns today from a weeklong break, but it's unlikely to be business as usual. Members of Parliament resumed an 11th day of debate on a Conservative demand for documents about federal spending on green technology projects.

Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership

B.C. woman, 57, found dead after home swept away by mudslide

B.C. woman, 57, found dead after home swept away by mudslide
Police in British Columbia say two people are dead and another is missing, thought to be inside a submerged vehicle, after a weekend of torrential rain that triggered mudslides, road washouts and localized flooding.

B.C. woman, 57, found dead after home swept away by mudslide

RCMP investigate after home shot at, 13-year-old injured in northern Manitoba

RCMP investigate after home shot at, 13-year-old injured in northern Manitoba
A 13-year-old boy has been seriously injured in a shooting in northern Manitoba. RCMP responded early Saturday morning to a report of shots bring fired at a home in Nisichawayasihk (nis-sis-TWAH'-see) Cree Nation, west of Thompson.

RCMP investigate after home shot at, 13-year-old injured in northern Manitoba

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase
The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff. Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit.

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

Wildfire smoke pollution linked to thousands of annual deaths: global study

Wildfire smoke pollution linked to thousands of annual deaths: global study
A new international study co-authored by a Canadian researcher says climate change is contributing to thousands more wildfire smoke-related deaths than in previous decades. The modelling study estimates that about 12,566 annual wildfire smoke-related deaths in the 2010s were linked to climate change, up from about 669 in the 1960s. 

Wildfire smoke pollution linked to thousands of annual deaths: global study