How the Canadian Dental Care Plan shafted me.

[blackbird]

The CDCP is not available to anyone who has access to a union or employee dental plan no matter how poor that private plan is.

I have access to a union plan but the plan is very poor.  The premiums are about $560 per year and the plan pays a maximum of $1000 a year for dental work.  That means a member actually only receives about $440 a year in benefits.   If you don't need dental work one year or just a check up, you might be ok.  Beyond that you are in trouble.  Fillings, pullings, crowns can run into the high hundreds and thousands of dollars in one year.  Any dental visit requires a mandatory exam for $61 just to even get in the door.

As a result of the federal Liberals/NDP bringing in the CDCP, the dental industry raised their fees.  Now a crown is about $1,700.   Any filling requires an examination first for $61 plus possible X-rays for another fee.  An actual filling could cost anywhere from $170 up to around $400.  So the total for one filling could conceivably be around $500.  This is outrageous.  This high cost was partly due to the government bringing in the CDCP coverage.  Those who are not eligible for the CDCP, such as myself, are the ones who really get shafted because the union plan is next to worthless.  We are not eligible for the government CDCP plan and so lose there even though we paid taxes all of our lives the same as everyone else.  People that never belonged to a union or never had a job with a dental plan are now far better off than people like myself.  They can claim the CDCP benefits while the rest of us are left out.

People with a family net income of less than $70,000 per year receive 100% dental care coverage.   I should be receiving that coverage, but instead I get nothing because I have access to a useless private plan that might cover one filling a year.  

The dental industry is milking the government's CDCP because they can.  The dental industry could care less about people who have no CDCP.  Why should they?  They have a guaranteed massive income from government now.   That leaves people like me hung out to dry.   Public dental care at its worst.

[herbie]

You objected to it in the first place and now you're complaining it doesn't cover enough. Aren't you glad the Evil Trudeau scaled it back?

It's a half ass plan that disqualifies seniors that pay for Blue Cross instead of supplementing it or replacing it. Half as, half implemented, typical 2 tier plan of a right wing Liberal govt that takes over risk so the insurers don't have to and keep profits. Like Obamacare. Half assed.

[eyeball]

16 minutes ago, blackbird said:

useless private plan that might cover one filling a year.  

The dental industry is milking the government's CDCP because they can. 

It sounds like your union benefit plan is milking you.

I'm almost afraid to ask how much you pay in union dues given how little effort they seem to have  put into bargaining for your dental benefits.

Edited January 14 by eyeball

[TreeBeard]

Opt out of your union plan. 

[blackbird]

2 hours ago, eyeball said:

It sounds like your union benefit plan is milking you.

I'm almost afraid to ask how much you pay in union dues given how little effort they seem to have  put into bargaining for your dental benefits.

Retired long ago so there is no union dues.  Cancelled the dental / health plan because it was costing more than it was worth.

Now I have a tiny chip near the edge of a tooth.  It would cost $61 for an exam and $170 to $400 to fill it.  Ridiculous.  I think I'll forget it.  It's not big enough to worry about and not worth spending hundreds to fix.  

Edited January 14 by blackbird

[TreeBeard]

5 minutes ago, blackbird said:

Do you know a partial denture would cost over $2800 in B.C. and around $1000 or less in Bellingham, Washington? 

USA generally costs more for dental. 

[eyeball]

19 minutes ago, blackbird said:

Retired long ago so there is no union dues.  Cancelled the dental / health plan because it was costing more than it was worth.

Now I have a tiny chip near the edge of a tooth.  It would cost $61 for an exam and $170 to $400 to fill it.  Ridiculous.  I think I'll forget it.  It's not big enough to worry about and not worth spending hundreds to fix.  

Well, it sounds like you got a lot of suffering off your mind by getting a bunch of stuff off your chest so...that's a good proactive approach. 👍

Personally, I think you deserve a lollipop.

[blackbird]

5 hours ago, TreeBeard said:

Opt out of your union plan. 

I did but that means I have no plan.  The CDCP says anyone who has access to a private plan is not eligible for the CDCP plan even if one doesn't like the private plan and is not signed up for it.  It doesn't matter how bad the private plan is;  I am still not eligible for the CDCP because the private plan is available.  That is what it says on the CDCP website.

[blackbird]

20 hours ago, herbie said:

You objected to it in the first place and now you're complaining it doesn't cover enough

The CDCP plan doesn't cover anything for me.   I need a partial denture which is $2,820 and must pay it all myself.    The CDCP plan doesn't cover anyone who has access to a private plan such as a union plan even if the private plan is very bad and even if you're not signed up for the private plan. 

People on the CDCP plan get 100% dental coverage if their joint income is less than seventy thousand, while I get nothing.  Sound fair?  I think that is 100% of the maximum they pay for certain kinds of procedures.  There is a deductible patient must pay I believe.  However, there is no limit on the amount of dental work they cover per year.

Edited January 14 by blackbird

[eyeball]

47 minutes ago, blackbird said:

The CDCP plan doesn't cover anything for me.   I need a partial denture which is $2,820 and must pay it all myself.  In Washington, a partial denture is about half the price (maybe even less) as in Canada now.  The dental industry in Canada is really milking the government for all they can.  Why?  Because they can.

There is no evidence to suggest dentists collectively jacked up their prices to milk the government following the CDCP. Their fees are set by industry association standards and increases pretty much just reflect the inflation rate. If anything dentists have had to eat the costs of administering their end of the CDCP billing process.

47 minutes ago, blackbird said:

The CDCP plan doesn't cover anyone who has access to a private plan such as a union plan even if the private plan is very bad and even if you're not signed up for the private plan. 

People on the CDCP plan get 100% dental coverage if their joint income is less than seventy thousand, while I get nothing.  Sound fair?  

It doesn't sound universal that's for sure. The NDP got what they could though, there's still some 6 million Canadians who never had any coverage at all before.

Your situation certainly underscores the need to have real socialists in power if you expect better universality.

You'll see little of that with Canada's center right and right wing governments.

This why Obamacare sucks so bad, Democrats just ain't real lefties. It's better than nothing I suppose but the same thing applies there as here.

You need more political will.

BTW the CDCP uses its own templates for establishing  fees and almost universally, ironically enough, only pays 70-80% of the fees to dentists meaning dentists bill patients for the rest.

It's all very half assed but it's a start.

Edited January 14 by eyeball

[ExFlyer]

10 hours ago, blackbird said:

Retired long ago so there is no union dues.  Cancelled the dental / health plan because it was costing more than it was worth.

Now I have a tiny chip near the edge of a tooth.  It would cost $61 for an exam and $170 to $400 to fill it.  Ridiculous.  I think I'll forget it.  It's not big enough to worry about and not worth spending hundreds to fix.  

So...it is the cost of your dental work...not the reimbursement of the CDCP or your union dental plan.

All dental plans have annual limitations....first time you used it and found that out.

That and if you have a dental plan...you are not eligible for the CDCP...

[Barquentine]

8 hours ago, blackbird said:

 I need a partial denture which is $2,820 and must pay it all myself.

My brother's $4000 dentures only cost him $200 thanks to CDCP, so you must be doing something wrong...

[Politics1990]

welcome to the club my work place also offers a plan i would have to pay 1400$ a year into  so i cant qualify for the canadian dentist plan because of that

[Politics1990]

13 hours ago, TreeBeard said:

Opt out of your union plan. 

sadly that doesn't help  when i looked into it it states if you employer offers you a dental plan and you turn it down you can't qualify..  trust me when i read it i cursed trudeau up and down for a week 🤣.  he did some good things but this one was one of his dumbest

[blackbird]

25 minutes ago, Barquentine said:

My brother's $4000 dentures only cost him $200 thanks to CDCP, so you must be doing something wrong...

Not doing anything wrong.  As I explained, I am retired from a union job and the union has a dental care plan.  The CDCP rule is if a person has access to private dental care plan such as a union plan, he is not eligible for the CDCP.  It doesn't matter if you don't take the union plan;  the CDCP rule is if there a private plan available, you're not eligible for the government CDCP plan.  That means I am not eligible.  The union plan as I said is very poor and pays very little.

Edited January 14 by blackbird

[herbie]

The dentacare program caps out pretty low and if you're butt poor there are other programs to chip in. Some covered by regular medical, some thru welfare & disability and some by a dentist's own creative billing (like over more than one single year)

Nevertheless, it's shittier coverage than my $70.mo Blue Cross paid thru my union pension.
(But I miss the days when the wife had her company plan too. I don't recall being billed anything back then)

Edited January 14 by herbie

[eyeball]

I feel fortunate. My benefit plan at work costs me about $1300 a year and covers my wife and I for about $7500 worth of healthcare of which $1500 is for dental. I have dentures so.

We managed to get thru to mid December last year before maxing out our total coverage.

[herbie]

You'd be more fortunate if you're employer paid it. You'd only pay the tax on taxable benefit.
And remember folks, that's for extra medical coverage.
Like when my last kid was born the $81 for a private room with a TV and a telephone.

[eyeball]

41 minutes ago, herbie said:

You'd be more fortunate if you're employer paid it.

He pays too.

But seriously, we'd all be better off if there was just one universal payer for healthcare that treated a bad tooth no differently than a bunion.

You just check in, git her done, swipe your card and off you go.

100% coverage.

[herbie]

Yes it's a convoluted mess with multipayers. For you and dentists.
The two of us had coverage from the same insurer. but two plans. So he'd split the billing to both.
I could claim my Medical & Dental premiums as an expense because I pay for them, her employer paid hers so she got dinged their cost as a taxable benefit. You might be able to claim your paid portion.

Then again, just had a 200km ambulance ride, an operation, six days in hospital and several months of follow up meds last month and was out of pocket for $21.... I won't tear the system down