Only about 30 per cent of B.C. dentists have signed up for the new federal dental insurance plan.
The head of the B.C. Dental Association told Global News that a program that would normally take five to seven years to implement has been pushed through in just 18 months.
Dr. Robert Wolanski with the association said the contract is quite complicated and that’s deterring dentists from signing up.
“Many people come into our practices, the reports we are hearing, expecting, based on what they are hearing in the media and from the government (is) that this plan will pay for everything… they just have to walk in, show their card and everything is looked after. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple.”
When the federal government launched the program, dental providers were required to register, but there were questions about billing and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
The federal Health Minister said this week that dental professionals can now bill on a case-by-case basis.
“A lot of them want to dip a toe in the water,” Mark Holland said. “They want to try it out, but they don’t want to be fully committed. They want to make sure it works for their patients and for their practice.”
However, concerns have been raised by dental associations across the country, saying filing even one claim enrolls them through the back door for full participation. Some dentists have also said patients do not realize the program isn’t free.
There are co-payments and limits to what the insurance will cover and Wolanski said the confusion is leading to conflicts between would-be patients and front-line workers.
“Minister Holland says this plan has the same or a greater basket of services than any other plan. That is simply not true,” he said.
According to the federal government, 250,000 claims have been paid since the program was launched in May.