Alberta plans to opt out of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, arguing that its provincial plan is better.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, informing him of her government’s concerns with the federal dental care plan.
Smith said her province already offers the country’s most fully funded public dental coverage, benefitting around 500,000 Albertans. The province began offering dental programs in 1973 and has since developed and maintained them.
“The new Canadian Dental Care Plan unnecessarily replicates this coverage for many Albertans. This duplication raises the question of the value of maintaining two plans and whether health funding would be more wisely used to support a single plan,” wrote Smith. “Alberta has long maintained that it would be more effective to expand existing provincial programs than to introduce a new federal plan.”
Smith added that having two different plans would confuse Albertans.
She said that healthcare planning and delivery is exclusively within provincial jurisdiction, which the new federal plan infringes on.
“If a new health program was to be developed by the federal government, it should be done in full collaboration with provinces and territories, and discussions should have occurred before these intentions were announced. Unfortunately, this did not occur,” said Smith.
While Smith announced her intention to opt out of the federal plan, Alberta intends to keep its share of the funding.
“Alberta is seeking to negotiate an agreement for the province’s share of federal dental funding and will use this unconditional funding to expand dental coverage to more low-income Albertans,” reads the letter.
Alberta’s officials expect that terms the province and country deem acceptable can be negotiated within two years when the province plans to opt out in 2026.
“It is our desire for Albertans to have the best possible access to affordable dental care in the country. Alberta is a leader in providing quality dental coverage for low-income Albertans, and we look forward to successfully negotiating an agreement that enables Alberta to continue providing access to dental care,” concluded Smith’s letter.
Trudeau applauded the fact that over 200,000 Canadians have used the Canadian Dental Care Plan since it was introduced.
Health Minister Mark Holland said he only cares that people get dental care, not who administers it.
“If you want to manage it, then we have clear conditions of what it takes. At a baseline, it’s got to be at least as good as our program. Number two, we’re not going to give you more money than it costs us to administer the program. And number three, we need assurance… that you’re not going to burn providers later on and defund this program and not implement it properly,” said Holland.
He said he’s open to sitting at the table with Smith and talking about how Alberta can improve the program themselves but isn’t open to discussions about jurisdictions for jurisdictions’ sake.
“It seems that the way that Premier Smith put it, it was more about, you know, trying to seek conflict with us to create some kind of political thing than it was about patients,” he added.
The Canadian Dental Association previously conducted a survey showing that 61% of dentists would not participate in the plan due to their numerous concerns.
Concerns highlighted by the Alberta Dental Association include the fact that patients will still have to pay out of pocket for numerous services, that patients won’t be able to choose their own dentist should their dentist choose not to participate, and that access to care may be worsened due to red tape.
Despite concerns raised, the Canadian Dental Association issued a press release applauding the federal government’s recent changes to the plan on Tuesday.
“While acknowledging the progress made so far, no public plan is perfect and there is still work to be done in the medium to long term to benefit Canadians over time,” said the Canadian Dental Association’s President, Dr. Joel Antel.
The further improvements called for by the Canadian Dental Association include mitigating the potential loss of insurance coverage for those with existing dental benefits provided by their employer, addressing human resources challenges, and improving the plan’s service coverage.
The federal dental plan was introduced in Dec. 2023.
The plan’s implementation began with seniors aged 87 and older. The plan is now open to seniors aged 65 and above, people with a valid disability tax credit certificate, and children under age 18.
The Liberals have committed $13 billion over the next five years to provide a portion of the payment for those who make under $90,000 a year in family net income. Only those whose families make less than $70,000 a year will have their full costs covered.
