Dental News - Think-tank unveils proposal for a universal dental care scheme

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 27. March 2019

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MELBOURNE, Australia: Poor oral health is something many Australians are dealing with every day. Limited access to dental care services, increase in treatment costs and lack of education regarding oral health care are just some of the reasons. Something that may well help change the current status quo, however, is the restructuring of the oral health care system. Less than a week after the Australian Greens unveiled a proposed Medicare-funded dental care programme, the Grattan Institute has released its proposal for a universal dental care scheme.

The Grattan Institute is an Australian public policy think-tank that was established in 2008. Based in Melbourne, the institute is aligned with no particular party but defines itself as contributing to public policy in Australia as a liberal democracy in a globalised economy. Its scheme, which would be phased in over ten years and funded by a rise in the Medicare levy, would target children and their parents who are eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) and all Health Care Card and Pensioner Concession Card holders, totalling around 9.7 million people. Primary dental care would be the main area of focus, and cosmetic and orthodontic treatments would be excluded.

Speaking about the scheme, Grattan Institute Health Program Director Dr Stephen Duckett said, “Universal dental care is a big idea whose time has come. All Australians should be able to get the care they need, when they need it, without financial barriers.”

Cumulatively, federal, state and territory governments spend around A$2.3 billion a year on dental care. The initial tranche of the scheme would replace the CDBS and existing state funding, offering the same A$1,000 allocation instead over two years to eligible patients. Treatment would be provided by dental professionals in “preferred practices” accredited by government or agents.

As reported by Dental Tribune International, the Australian Dental Association and the Australian Health Policy Collaboration found in a 2018 report that more than 90 per cent of Australians had experienced dental caries. According to researchers from the Grattan Institute, targeted groups of the first tranche have been selected because the poor and disadvantaged are most likely to miss out on dental care, the consequence being the kind of widespread oral health issues outlined in the aforementioned report.

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