While more Canadians will soon have access to dental care with the new Canadian Dental Care Plan, navigating the eligibility requirements can be challenging. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Canadian Dental Care Plan?
The federal government is providing some dental coverage for those meeting specific eligibility criteria. Since not everyone will qualify for this new plan, we are here to help you understand the eligibility requirements and share what has been released so far.
While information on who may qualify for this program is available, details regarding the dental services and the associated costs covered under this new plan are not currently available.
Who will be eligible for the Canadian Dental Care Plan?
The Canadian Dental Care Plan is a program for Canadian families who meet the following criteria:
- Have an adjusted household net annual income of less than $90,000. Those with an adjusted household net annual income of less than $70,000 will not have copayments.
- Have filed the prior year’s income tax return.
- Do not have access to dental coverage through their employer or a privately purchased benefits plan.
- Any level of dental coverage offered by an employer, including health spending accounts, is considered access to dental coverage, even if the employee opts out of dental coverage.
- For the first phase of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, as noted below, a privately purchased benefits plan was specifically defined as privately purchased dental insurance, meaning children of families with private insurance for other benefits such as drug, health or travel coverage could still qualify. If there are any changes to eligibility in the second phase of the Canadian Dental Care Plan regarding the definition of privately purchased benefits plans, this document will be updated.
The Canadian Dental Care Plan is expected to be released in 3 phases.
- The first phase is limited to eligible children under the age of 12 and serves as an interim solution only. Administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, this interim benefit became effective December 1, 2022, and has an end date of June 30, 2024. Learn more about the Canada Dental Benefit.
- The second phase is expected to expand to those under the age of 18, seniors and persons living with disabilities. The second phase was originally expected to launch in 2023, but the effective date has not yet been announced.
- The third phase applies to all other Canadians that meet the eligibility criteria and is expected to be in effect by 2025.
Questions
We’ll share more information about this new plan as the details become available. If you have any questions about eligibility requirements for the Canadian Dental Care Plan or navigating your options, our team is here for you.
