Malcolm Turnbull to announce revamp of dental policy in first budget

EVERY Aussie kid will get government-subsidised dental care including braces under a revamp of dental policy to be announced in Malcolm Turnbull’s first budget.

Children like six-year-old Ruby Scott, pictured here with Dr Stephen Allsop, will benefit under the Turnbull Government’s upcoming dental budget announcement. Picture: Peter Ristevski

EXCLUSIVE

Every Australian child will get government-subsidised dental care including braces under a major revamp of dental policy to be announced in Malcolm Turnbull’s first budget.

The current means tested Child Dental Scheme (CDBS) which provided care to three million kids will be axed and replaced by a scheme providing dental cover for every child — 5.3 million kids.

The current $1,000 cap on government funded dental care will be scrapped under the new Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme (caPDS) scheme that will even pay for braces, crowns and implants if they are clinically necessary rather than cosmetic.

And another five million adults with health care cards will get cover under the scheme to cost $1.7 billion over four years.

The major change with the new scheme is that instead of using private dentists families who want subsidised care will have to use the public dental system run by the states which have long waiting lists.

“It will represent a doubling of the Commonwealth’s current contribution to the states and territories for public dental services, and, for the first time, will be enshrined in legislation to provide long-term certainty for current and future generations,” Health Minister Sussan Ley told News Corp.

The new funding will see an extra 600,000 patients treated in the public dental system. Picture: iStock

The government expects an extra 600,000 public dental patients to be treated every year under the scheme.

The current means-tested CDBS that was introduced by the previous Labor Government is only being used by one million of the three million eligible children. Two government inquiries found it wasn’t promoted well.

The change means the states will now be responsible for dental care and they will be able to charge parents a copayment for dental care if they wish.

Only around 20 per cent of the nation’s dentists work in the public sector and there are already lengthy waiting lists for public dental care run by the states.

At the end of December 2015 there were 9,203 children and 104,156 adults waiting for general public dental care in NSW.

Productivity Commission data shows waiting times for 2014-15 were 237 days for public dental treatment in Victoria, 309 days in Queensland, 260 days in South Australia and 933 days in Tasmania.

A spokesman for Ms Ley said this problem would be addressed because the states will get a 40 per cent increase in funding under the changes.

Funding increases lead to a reduction in waiting times for public dental services. Picture: Thinkstock.

The previous 20 per cent funding increase for public dental care led to a 50 per cent reduction in waiting times, he said.

The existing child dental scheme was funded at around $615 million a year or $2.8 billion over six years but low take up rates meant only $312 million a year was actually spent.

The new scheme will cover more children as well as adults and receive around $425 million a year or $1.7 billion over four years.

The revamp comes as the government reveals dentists and their employees have been prosecuted or are under investigation for rorting more than $4 million in benefits under the existing child dental scheme set up by the Labor Party.

A dental receptionist had to repay several thousand dollars after she submitted false claims under the scheme.

A further 120 dentists have had to repay $500,000 after they submitted incorrect claims under the scheme.

Another $3 million worth of claims made under the scheme are under investigation.

Angela Gulino the mother of five children says she would never have been unable to afford a recent $2,000 dental bill for her six year old daughter Ruby Scott without the current CDBS scheme.

Ruby was in pain and had to have two abscessed teeth removed and another saved with a stainless steel crown to prevent the need for $7,000 braces.

Ruby’s distress meant an anaesthetist costing $800 was required and his bill was not covered by the government scheme.

Ruby’s recent visit to the dentist cost her mum $2000. Picture: Peter Ristevski.

Ms Gulino says she would be very happy if the new dental scheme covered all dental costs including anaesthetists.

“That sounds like a positive change if it provided broader cover, there could be a bigger saving for families.

However the mum, from Lethbridge near Geelong, she says she would face a 40 minute drive to access the closest public dentist if she was unable to use her local private dentists for care.

‘You’d have to balance the pros and cons. If you get more coverage on one side of the coin but it’s not your closest dentists and the time you’d have to wait on a waiting lists you can see a downside as well,” she said of the changes.

The Australian Dental Association (ADA) has been campaigning to save the child dental benefits scheme.

ADA chief Robert Boyd Boland said 97 per cent of treatments provided under the existing child dental scheme had been bulk billed at no charge to patients.

“It could not have been better targeted and the amount of money was adequate,” he said.

Originally published as Malcolm Turnbull to announce revamp of dental policy in first budget