ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Politics

    • Liberal government hopes changes to dental care program will increase uptake

    Share

    Less than one year after federal Liberals announced a new dental care program to mixed reviews, the government is making changes in hopes to get more providers on board.

    Since its launch, the federal government says the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) has seen 11,800 dental care providers sign up with Sun Life Financial to officially take part. To grow that number, Ottawa is now allowing providers to seek reimbursement from Sun Life on a claim-by-claim basis, dropping previous requirements to sign up for the program itself.

    Speaking in Dartmouth today, Health Minister Mark Holland said the government heard from many dental professionals who wanted another way to participate given “bad experiences†with other programs in the past.

    Speaking about the changes, Holland said he hopes the ability to take part in the program on a claim-by-claim basis will rapidly increase the number of dentists who accept CDCP patients.

    “One of the things I hear is that, you know, they have been burned by other programs, that they didn't have positive experiences,†he said about why some dentists have been hesitant to sign up. “Making sure that they see and feel that this program is really listening to them and is responding to their needs and is there for them, is a fair partnership, is extremely important.â€

    Before today's change, clients seeking coverage under the plan could only seek treatment from participating dentists and other providers that were listed on the insurance company’s website. Officials speaking on background say they hope the change will make it easier for clients to see the dentist of their choice.

    "There are providers, and we wanted to listen to them, who had concerns about the need to sign up formally to Sun Life but wanted to see CDCP clients," said one Health Canada official speaking on background during a technical briefing. "As of today, they can submit a claim and it will be processed by Sun Life."

    The first phase of the $13 billion program launched May 1 to service seniors 70 and over. Since then, Health Canada says more than two million eligible individuals have been approved for coverage and nearly 250,000 seniors have received treatment.

    Eligibility has now expanded to accept applications from seniors 65 and over, adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit (DTC) certificate and children under 18. Health Canada says that just under 10,000 applications have been received for people with a valid DTC and just under 25,000 applications have been received for children under the age of 18.

    Ottawa has said eligibility will expand further in 2025.

    Dentists, denturists, dental hygienists and dental specialists have largely gotten behind the publicly funded dental insurance program, but some did have concerns about eligibility, as well as the billing agreement with Sun Life.

    What is covered?

    The CDCP covers a wide range of oral health care services including regular cleanings, root canal treatments, fillings and diagnostic services such as X-rays. The amount paid for by the federal program depends on your adjusted family net income and how much the provider charges.

    Individuals with an adjusted family net income lower than $70,000 will have 100 per cent of eligible oral health care service costs will be covered at the CDCP established fees. That proportion of eligible oral health service costs covered drops to 40 per cent for individuals with adjusted family net incomes between $80,000 and $89,999.

    Health Canada officials speaking on background reiterated that clients may have to pay out of pocket if they choose to receive services that are not covered by the federal program, or if they choose to see a provider that charges more than what the program covers.

    Health Canada officials say all providers, whether they have signed up to the program or not, will now be able to submit a claim to Sun Life, receive an estimate about how much the client will be reimbursed and seek reimbursement on a claim-by-claim basis.

    Health Canada officials say they are tracking the variances between what CDCP covers, what is being charged by providers and how much clients are having to pay out of pocket.

    The Canadian Dental Association (CDA), which has had concerns with the program since the start, says today’s announcement isn’t much of a change. CDA president Dr. Joel Antel says dentists submitting a single claim are still required to sign on to what he calls a complicated set of terms and conditions, and are still required to essentially enter into a contract with the government, not the patient.

    “If I have a patient at my office who is covered by conventional insurance I have a contract with that patient, and they have a contract with the insurance company who will pay part or some of their costs,†Antel said. “With this program my contract would be with the government, not the patient, and then I’ve got to figure out how to fit what the government wants the coverage to be to what the patient needs to what the costs to providing that care are.â€

    Antel says that to get more dentists on board the government should do what traditional insurance does, and recognize the provincial and territorial fee guides.

    “The coverage in every province is less than what is traditionally charged to a patient who walks in with private insurance or no insurance,†he said.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

    Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    The University of Ottawa's special advisor on antisemitism says he has resigned following posts he made on social media celebrating the pager explosions in Lebanon this week.

    The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.

    Canada

    • The University of Ottawa's special advisor on antisemitism says he has resigned following posts he made on social media celebrating the pager explosions in Lebanon this week.

    • The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.

    • Lacing up skates to hit the ice on any one of Canada's lakes may be a common winter pastime for some, but a new study suggests it may be increasingly 'potentially unstable and unsafe' to play a game of pick-up hockey on the frozen water.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    • Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.

    • Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette returned to the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a right middle finger fracture.

    Autos

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

    • The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."

    • A Winnipeg man is asking for help after a classic car that has been a part of his family since the 1950s was stolen from his garage.

    Local Spotlight

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

    Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

    A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

    If you take a look to the right of Hilda Duddridge’s 100th birthday cake, you’ll see a sculpture of a smiling girl extending her arms forward.

    • In one of the final speeches he makes before the provincial election campaign period formally begins, Premier David Eby promised a gathering of B.C.'s mayors that he would continue to work closely with them if he's returned to government, but didn't make any last-minute spending announcements.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Toronto police are asking for the public's help identifying a person who is suspected to be involved in Tuesday's fatal double shooting in North York.

    • Students across York Region will once again see uniformed officers at school, however police and board officials say they will only be stopping by for the occasional safety presentation.

    • Police have identified the two men killed in an early Wednesday morning shooting at a park north of Toronto. York Regional Police (YRP) say officers were called to Bayview Park, near Bayview and Lowndes avenues in Keswick, Ont., just before 7:30 a.m. for a report of shots fired.

    • The Parole Board of Canada says a man who assaulted a young pregnant woman and left her for dead remains too dangerous to be released into the community.

    • City of Calgary crews are finalizing work filling the Bearspaw feeder main following repairs.

    • A Calgary pharmacist has been suspended by the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) after they found she had accessed a person's electronic health records (Netcare) without "any authorized purpose."

    • The daughter of a man accused of killing her mother and of trying to kill her in a stabbing attack in Ottawa's west end in June 2021 took the stand at his trial Thursday.

    • Two teenage girls are facing assault charges and three other girls will be "facing consequences" under the Youth Criminal Justice Act following the assault of a girl at a Pembroke, Ont. school, according to police.

    • The University of Ottawa's special advisor on antisemitism says he has resigned following posts he made on social media celebrating the pager explosions in Lebanon this week.

    • Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    • Friends and strangers have set up a makeshift memorial outside the home of a five-year-old boy who was found dead yesterday in Coteau-du-lac.

    • Public services in Quebec are becoming dehumanized, warns Quebec Ombudsman Marc-André Dowd in his 2023-2024 annual report, which is filled with concrete examples.

    • The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.

    • The Alberta government will provide $149 million for Jasper's recovery from a wildfire that burned one third of its townsite, the province announced on Thursday.

    • A 26-year-old man was killed in an impaired driving crash in Jasper National Thursday morning, RCMP say.

    • New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called for a provincial election. Voters will go to the polls on Oct. 21, as prescribed by the province's fixed-date election law.

    • The head of a committee monitoring the government's response to the inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass killing says she's pleased with progress made so far.

    • Police are asking people to avoid the Dartmouth Commons area in Dartmouth, N.S., as they assist with a wildlife call for a bear.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • After a soggy, chaotic few days in Manitoba, more severe thunderstorms could be on the way to parts of the province on Thursday.

    • The Southern Chiefs' Organization (SCO) is launching a Charter challenge to have Lake Winnipeg declared a living being, claiming that the province and Manitoba Hydro are damaging the lake with development.

    • Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has confirmed a tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Langbank, Sask.

    • Following the success of their 'I Gotch You' campaign, Rally Around Homelessness officially launched a new program called 'Fresh Start.'

    • Saskatchewan's harvest is 74 per cent complete, compared to 61 per cent last week, according to the latest crop report from the province.

    • New details have been shared about a missing family that was last seen on Sept. 1 in Kitchener, Ont.

    • Ontario Provincial Police shared photos Thursday of a clandestine drug lab discovered in Walkerton.

    • A police officer in Brantford has been charged with obstructing justice, stemming from incident in 2022.

    • Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.

    • A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.

    • Police have arrested and charged two women following an armed robbery at a store in Saskatoon Thursday morning.

    • Fire officials in Greater Sudbury are concerned about a recent increase in the number of wildfires in the area.

    • One person is dead and another is in hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries after a crash involving a commercial and passenger vehicle on Highway 101 west of Timmins on Wednesday afternoon.

    • James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.

    • Damage is estimated around $500,000. Police said the investigation is in its early stages and more information will be provided when it becomes available.

    • Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.

    • Pediatric oncology nurses Kaitlyn Earley and Kaeleigh Wightman have walked the hallways of the children's hospital many times - not just as employees but as patients too.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • Police closed an area in Orillia to investigate reports of a suspicious man walking with a gun Thursday morning.

    • A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    • An active investigation is underway on Ottawa Street, east of Kildare Road.

    • Windsor firefighters responded to a vacant building fire on Wednesday night.

    • St. Clair College and Alienware Gaming have teamed up to open the country’s first Alienware Gaming Lab at the college in the Esports Nexus Arena.

    • An agreement between First Nations and the British Columbia government will see thousands of homes made available in Vancouver at 40-per-cent below cost.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • If the lead up to British Columbia's provincial election campaign is any indication of what’s to come, voters should expect the unexpected.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • More than a year after a missing Kamloops, B.C., woman’s body was found, her son has been arrested and charged with her murder, Mounties announced Friday.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • The City of Lethbridge's encampment response team continues to see a rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout the summer months.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    • A 50-year-old man in the Sault has been charged following an assault on Saturday that involved the use of a hammer.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News