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Irwin Dental

2 years ago

Canada Dental Benefit Receives Royal Assent, Now Law

On November 17, Federal Bill C-31 received Royal Assent, becoming law, and enacting the Canada Dental Benefit (CDB). Most details remain the same as shared in our September 20 Issue Alert.

Eligibility

The CDB provides eligible parents or guardians with direct, up-front tax-free payments to cover preventative and restorative dental expenses for their children under 12 years who do not have access to private dental insurance. Children on existing Provincial, Territorial or Federal dental plans (such as BC Healthy Kids, Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction dental program, First Nations Health Authority dental plan etc. remain eligible to apply, if their income criteria as stated below is met and they have out-of-pocket expenses for dental treatment that are not fully covered by these dental plans.

Benefit Amounts
$650 for each eligible child if the family’s adjusted net income is under $70,000.
$390 for each eligible child if the family’s adjusted net income is between $70,000 and $79,999.
$260 for each eligible child if the family’s adjusted net income is between $80,000 and $89,999.
Benefit Time Periods
October 1, 2022-June 30, 2023 (children must be under 12 as of December 1, 2022)
July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024 (children must be under 12 as of July 1, 2023)
If an eligible child’s expense in one benefit period is more than the allotted amount for that period, the child may be eligible to access additional payment towards those costs in the period starting July 2023. However, the total amount received over the two years will not be more than the sum of the two benefit payments, per child in any scenario.

Application Process and Timeframe
The application website will begin receiving applications and processing payments for the benefit December 1, 2022
The CDB will cover expenses retroactive to October 1, 2022 for eligible children.
To access the CDB, parents or guardians must provide CRA with the name of their licensed dental care practitioner and the month of the planned appointment. They must also keep all receipts for audit purposes.
The government indicated it is developing communication strategies and tool kits to be downloaded by dental offices to help provide information to their patients. BCDA is actively working to create and update its online resources to assist members and their patients navigate the CDB process.

The federal government remains committed to full implementation of a dental care program for households with incomes under $90,000 by 2025. BCDA is closely monitoring developments on this topic. We continue to advise that patients do not delay any dental treatment nor cancel any existing benefit coverage.

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Canada Dental Benefit - Canada.ca

The new interim Canada Dental Benefit provides financial support to eligible families who earn less than $90,000 per year and do not have access to a private dental insurance plan for their children u...