Cost of a Dental Care Plan for Canadians

Implementing a dental care plan for Canadians. The plan is expected to cover the costs of routine care, fluoride treatments, radiographs, sealants and other combinations of caries treatments, dentures, and periodontics. Households with an income below $90,000 may benefit from the plan. A phase-in period lasting from 2022 to 2025 will gradually expand coverage to those eligible.[^1] Households with an income below $70,000 per year will bear no cost. Co-payments scale linearly for households with income between $70,000 and $90,000. The thresholds are indexed to inflation.

• Estimates are presented on an accrual basis as would appear in the budget and public accounts.
• A positive number implies a deterioration in the budgetary balance (lower revenues or higher spending). A negative number implies an improvement in the budgetary balance (higher revenues or lower spending).
• Totals may not add due to rounding.

PBO estimated the potential beneficiary population using demographic forecasts and historic utilization rates. The subset of those eligible in a given year based on the phase-in process was then estimated. Behavioral effects were considered. Routine procedures applied to the entire eligible beneficiary population. Disease treatments were determined by the prevalence of the disease in an age group. Those with untreated diseases would receive treatment within the first fiscal year in which they were eligible. Beneficiaries will be treated for any new diseases that may arise with the passage of time. Costs were grown using historical fee increases. Administration costs were accounted for in the estimate.

If the beneficiary population or utilization rate exceed expectations, then costs will increase. If the set of procedures to be provided increases, costs will increase. Changes in the rate of fee increases, inflation, or the prevalence of diseases would also influence costs.