Budget Bulletin: Province Changes Eligibility for Children's Dental Program

FINANCE--Budget Bulletin: Province Changes Eligibility for Children's Dental Program

Nova Scotia will no longer be the primary insurer for the Children's Oral Health Program. Effective May 1 private insurance companies will cover the cost of dental care for children aged 10 years and younger whose families are insured. The province will continue to cover the costs of care for those children whose families do not have private insurance.

The children's dental program cost Nova Scotia over $7.3 million in 2001-02. The number of children insured under the program is 108,500. Program funding is reduced by $4.35 million in 2002-03. Health Canada Statistics estimate that approximately 50 per cent of Nova Scotians over the age of 14 are covered under private dental plans.

The government is working to ensure that its limited health-care dollars assist in areas where they are needed most. Included in this funding are a variety of ancillary programs that the Canada Health Act does not mandate. The Children's Oral Health Program is one such program. Until now, the province provided dental care on a universal basis to all children up to the end of the month in which they reach their 10th birthday.

NOTE: For further 2002-03 budget information, visit the Department of Finance Web site at www.gov.ns.ca/finance .