January 2024 Board of Health Meeting - Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) Information Report

PREPARED BY: Oral Health Department

DATE: January 18^th, 2024

In early 2022, the federal government announced plans to enhance access to dental care for Canadian families with annual household incomes of less than $90,000 through the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).   One of the main objectives of the CDCP is to help bridge the gap in accessing dental care for priority populations across Canada. By providing financial support to Canadian residents who don’t have access to private dental insurance, the CDCP allows at-risk individuals including children, persons with disabilities and seniors to access affordable dental care.

DISCUSSION

On December 11^th, 2023, the federal government announced the launch of the second stage of the phased model, outlining the application and implementation process for Seniors 65 and older. 

The third phase of the model is anticipated to launch in June 2024, with applications opening at that time for persons with a valid disability tax credit certificate and children under 18. Ultimately, this program will be accessible to all Canadians who meet the below eligibility criteria:

• Have no access to private dental insurance. 
• Have an annual adjusted family net income of under $90,000.
• Be a Canadian Resident.
• Filed their income tax return in the previous year.

Those covered under the CDCP may start seeing Oral Health providers for care as early as May 2024 in local dental offices who enroll as participating treatment providers. Depending on the adjusted family net income of the applicant, some CDCP members making over $70,000/year will be required to make a co-payment for their care.

While clients with private dental insurance will not have access to the CDCP, those on previously established provincial, territorial, or federal social programs are still eligible. This includes the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (for eligible seniors 65 years and older) and Healthy Smiles Ontario Program (for eligible children and youth under the age of 18) which are operated by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) locally. To address the potential overlap in services, the Ontario Association for Public Health Dentistry (OAPHD) has advocated for the following considerations from the federal government to avoid overlaps in services and care:

1. Streamline the coordination of all public dental programs to ensure simple and accessible processes for both patients and providers.
2. Build the capacity of the health and social system to improve oral health access and health equity.
3. Safeguard and sustain the capacity of oral health care through a mixed model system.
4. Promote wider participation by ensuring oral health professionals receive fair and equitable payments for oral health services across public programs.
5. Include a strong communication strategy and knowledge plan to enhance public and provider understanding and navigation of federal and provincial programs.
6. Foster relationships across levels, sectors, and communities to strengthen collaborative health care that includes oral health.
7. Continue to invest in Public Health to provide upstream health and oral services to all Ontarians.
8. Administer an effective oral health data framework and evaluation plan that measures and reports on process, quality of care, and outcomes.

The federal government has expressed that they are in dialogue with provincial and territorial ministries regarding their coordination of the CDCP. Additional information is expected to be released in January 2024.