Close X
Thursday, November 28, 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

Air Canada pushing for government intervention as clock ticks on labour talks

Air Canada pushing for government intervention as clock ticks on labour talks
Air Canada and business leaders are asking Ottawa to be ready to intervene in labour talks with its pilots as time is running out before a potential shutdown, but so far the government has said the two sides need to work things out.  Airline spokesman Christophe Hennebelle said Thursday that Air Canada is committed to negotiations, but it faces wage demands from the Air Line Pilots Association that it can't meet. 

Air Canada pushing for government intervention as clock ticks on labour talks

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded
When Canada's spy chief wrote a secret letter to the public safety minister last December — the week after a report emerged that two young women in the service had been sexually assaulted by a senior colleague — it came with a warning. David Vigneault, then director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told Dominic LeBlanc that he expected "more cases to surface in the coming weeks," and that he had to be "transparent" about this with the minister 

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire
RCMP say they've put significant resources toward investigating the death of a person found after they responded to a fire by a rural road east of Calgary. Mounties were called early on Wednesday morning to a report of a fire on the side of a rural road in Rocky View County.

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night. 

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

2 in hospital in double stabbing in Surrey

2 in hospital in double stabbing in Surrey
Surrey R-C-M-P say they are investigating a double stabbing that sent two men to hospital. R-C-M-P say officers responded to a report of a fight on September 10th at an intersection where they found two man being stabbed. 

2 in hospital in double stabbing in Surrey

Kelowna coin collection theft

Kelowna coin collection theft
The Kelowna R-C-M-P says it is looking for the rightful owner of a rare coin collection that was recovered during a traffic stop. They say the collection holds several collector's coins from over the years and police are certain someone in the community is missing them.

Kelowna coin collection theft