Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 4

Dr. Aaron Burry, CEO of the Canadian Dental Association, answered questions in mid-July 2022 about federal dental care. Q Since we talked last, what have we learned about the federal government’s plan for investment in dental care? Dr. Aaron Burry (AB): Not much new information has been publically shared by the federal government since the initial announcement in April 2022. One of the big questions that many people had after the announcement of the federal investment of $5.3 billion over the next 5 years was whether that would be enough funding to provide oral health care services to the people who need them most. In other words, is the math correct? In June, the parliamentary budget office suggested that a better rough estimate for what was announced by the federal government would be approximately $9 billion over 5 years. This estimate is rough because the plan for federal investment has very few details at this point. But we do know that the estimate has some key assumptions. First, that no one will lose their current employer-sponsored insurance. And second, that people who are already covered by provincial and territorial dental programs will continue to be covered by them. In theory, the federal investment will go toward people who are currently outside both of those categories. Will it work out that no one will lose their current employer-sponsored health benefits and that those already served by public programs continue to be served by them? I hope so. One of CDA’s main recommendations to the federal government is to avoid the disruption of dental care that so many Canadians already have access to. Q CDA has been actively engaging with the federal government on this issue. Is there a sense of where this could go in the next few months? AB: The federal government had made a commitment to start providing dental care for children under age 12 by the end of the year. A well-designed program that accounts for the complexity and differences of the oral health ecosystems in each province and territory will take time to develop properly. There are some educated guesses that the federal government might be considering a two-pronged approach to carry out their commitment, one for the short-term and another for the long-term. In the short-term, the Liberals may look at solutions such as a private claims processor, providing vouchers, tax credits or even direct payments, similar to its CERB program. Any of these approaches will Dr. Aaron Burry Q&A: Federal Investment in Dental Care 9 Issue 4 | 2022 | CDA atWork