Canada dental care plan will be opened to more residents in Canada. The CDCP aims to ease the financial burden of paying for dental care out of pocket for those below a certain income threshold with no private dental plan, as employment benefits for full-time workers often supply it.
The plan is being rolled out in phases. Eligible seniors over 65 could use the CDCP starting in December 2023.
In the second phase, adults with disabilities and children under the age of 18 might use the plan. This implies that eligible newcomers will not need to pay for their children’s dental care between the ages of 12 and 18. The Canada Dental Benefit has previously covered children under the age of 12.
All remaining eligible Canadians will be able to use the plan beginning at an undetermined date in 2025.
Am I Eligible As A Temporary Resident?
Canada dental care plan will be opened to more residents in Canada. According to Service Canada, anyone who wishes to use the CDCP should meet specific criteria. They must:
- Not have access to a dental insurance plan
- Have an adjusted family net income/ wage of less than $90,000
- Have filed a tax return in the previous year
- Be a Canadian resident for tax purposes
The last point implies that temporary residents are eligible if they have one of the following residency codes on their most recent Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency.
Eligible Residency Codes: 0, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12
Ineligible Residency Codes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 13, 15
Sun Life provides coverage on behalf of Canada’s government, which will share applicants’ information with insurance companies. Once enrolled, Sun Life can:
- Information on the CDCP
- A member card
- A coverage start date
Service Canada’s webpage says that as of July 8, 2024, oral healthcare providers will be able to directly bill Sun Life for services provided on a claim-by-claim basis without officially signing up for CDCP.
This implies that after July 8, participants might see any dentist who is able to bill Sun Life directly. Before this date, clients must see a dentist who has already agreed to participate in the program.
Cost Of Dental Care In Canada
Canada dental care plan will be opened to more residents in Canada. The cost of dental care specifically impacts newcomers because they are more likely to work low-wage part-time jobs or in ‘gig’ work that does not offer dental insurance.
In fact, a Statistics Canada report released last March reported that while part-time employment levels increased by 113,000 for immigrant workers and 49,000 for temporary foreign workers, they declined by 126,000 for Canadian-born workers. Collectively, immigrant workers and TFW more than offset Canadian-born workers’ movement away from part-time lower-skilled employment.
Dental care is a healthcare expense not previously covered by provincial or federal healthcare plans. This implies that the cost of anything from an outline cleaning and checkup to more advanced procedures, like root canal/ cap, are all paid in full either out-of-pocket by the patient or at least in part through their private insurance.
In addition, the cost of a visit to the dentist is in line with a fee guided by a provincial association of dentists. However, these prices are usually suggestions only and individual dentists can charge any amount they deem fair.
In a speech last May by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, she noted that the CDCP is expected to help nine million uninsured Canadians get dental coverage.
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