Health Canada announced that approximately 70,000 Canadians were mistakenly approved for the national dental insurance program, with some also receiving incorrect copayment assessments. A system error related to income calculations has been corrected, and those who received care will not need to repay the covered amounts. The plan, which covers over 5 million Canadians, has seen only about 3 million actually access the coverage.
Roughly 70,000 people were approved for coverage under the public dental insurance program, but were later deemed ineligible or had been assessed for an incorrect copayment level, Health Canada said Tuesday.
Roughly 28,000 people in Canada received care after they were given an inaccurate assessment under the national dental insurance plan. Tens of thousands of people were mistakenly approved for coverage under the public dental insurance program, Health Canada said Tuesday. Roughly 70,000 people were approved for coverage under the plan but were later deemed ineligible or had been assessed for an incorrect copayment level, a news release from Health Canada said. 5 million Canadians now covered by national dental care plan, but nearly half haven't been to a dentist“An error was recently discovered with respect to how income was calculated for some applicants, at the time their eligibility … was being determined. A system fix has already been implemented to correct this error,” the statement said.Those who did receive care will not have to repay the amount covered by the public insurance plan, the statement said. Health Canada has been touting that more than five million Canadians are covered under the plan, but only about three million have actually accessed coverage. The national insurance program subsidizes the cost of dental care for Canadian residents with a family net income below $90,000 if they don't have access to a private insurance plan. The program helps pay for a range of dental work, including cleanings, fillings and dentures. Health Canada says that on average, each patient has had $800 in expenses covered per year. Alberta intends to opt out of federal dental care plan by 2026. What that means for you is still unclear The Canadian Dental Care Plan began in May 2024 for seniors, then children and Canadians who received the disability tax credit. In May 2025, it expanded to all eligible Canadians. The massive, multibillion-dollar public insurance program was brought in as a result of the NDP, which propped up the previous Trudeau Liberal minority government for two years in the House of Commons in return for major social programs like dental care. Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC's parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He previously worked as a digital reporter for CBC Ottawa and a producer for CBC's Power & Politics. He holds a master's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in public affairs and policy management, both from Carleton University. He also holds master's degree in arts from Queen's University. He can be reached at darren.major@cbc.ca.
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