Dental Association says Federal Budget adds $75 to child fees

FAMILIES are facing gap fees of up to $75 for their child’s dental care after Federal Government froze indexation of Medicare rebates in the budget.

EXCLUSIVE: Families are facing gap fees of up to $75 for their child’s dental care after Federal Government froze indexation of Medicare rebates for child dental care in the budget.

The Australian Dental Association says it could deter some families from getting their teeth checked and has branded it a “dental tax by proxy”.

DENTAL SURGERY AT CRISIS LEVELS

The scheme, introduced by the previous Labor Government, commenced on January 1 last year and has been used by over 750,000 families.

It provides $1,000 worth of basic dental care per child every two years.

In the budget the government announced it would freeze dental rebates under the Child Dental Scheme at 2014 levels for four years to save $125 million.

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Saving of $125 million ... Medicare rebates under the new Child Dental Scheme will be frozen for four years. Picture Getty Images.

The Australian Dental Association says before the freeze the Medicare the rebates paid to dentists under the scheme were already 20 per cent below the average fees charged by dentists for routine dental care.

“Freezing the indexation of benefits under the Scheme (where benefits are already far lower than dentists’ customary fees) will likely spell an end to the bulk billing arrangements,” the association said.

“By our estimate, families who go for a check-up, a filling and one or two other basic services will be out of pocket approximately $75 (per person) due to the Federal Budget’s freeze of indexation of rebates under the CDBS,” the association said.

The ADA said the $75 increased cost would be for the 2015-16 financial year and the impact will be bigger if indexation is not applied in future years.

The Medicare rebates are already $12.35 less than the average charge for a comprehensive oral examination. $25 below the average fee for a scale and clean and $33.55 below the cost of a filling and $2.45 below the average fee for a fluoride treatment.

The cost of these services is expected to grow by 4 per cent inline with health inflation in 2016-16.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said this measure was in place while the Abbott Government worked with dentists, consumers and the states to reform the country’s “fragmented” dental system.

“Over 90 cent of services provided under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule are bulk billed and this measure does not prevent dentists from being able to continue to do so.”

Dentists have branded the rebate freeze a dental tax by proxy. Picture News Corp.

The association says its is hard to fathom the logic of the change when the point of the scheme was to allow financially disadvantaged Australians access to a means tested scheme.

“The government is essentially imposing a dental tax by proxy, on financially disadvantaged Australians in particular,” the association says.

Only families who receive the Family Tax Benefit can access the scheme which is means tested.

The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) and the Consumers Health Forum (CHF) have also expressed disappointment that public dental services for adults have suffered a 25 per cent federal funding cut in the budget.

Funding for public dental care has also been slashed by $45 million. Picture News Corp.

In last year’s budget the Government deferred by 12 months the commencement of a new national partnership agreement with the states to fund dental care.

In Tuesday’s budget it cut the amount it would spend from $200 million to $155 million.

“Nearly one in three Australian consumers avoids dental treatment due to cost issues, with that figure rising to 47% for concession card holders. This is unacceptable in modern-day Australia,” says CHF Chief Executive Officer, Leanne Wells.

The AHHA says dental conditions underly around one in ten potentially avoidable hospitalisations in Australia.

Opposition health spokesman Catherine King said ‘not content with a GP Tax, and increasing the cost of drugs, the Abbott Government now wants to hike up the cost of taking kids to the dentist.”

“The Minister promised the Abbott Government would “sink its teeth” into dental reform, instead, she has sunk her teeth into Australia’s kids, stealing $125 million over the next four years from Labor’s scheme to provide millions of children with dental care through Medicare,” she said.

Originally published as Dental Association says Federal Budget adds $75 to child fees