Australian Dentists Show Medicare Programme Concern
On January 1st, a new Medicare programme will be launched in Australia, promising better access to dental treatment and more comprehensive dental care for more than a million children; however, dentists have raised concerns about the new programme and are worried that they are not prepared for the start of the scheme.
Under the new initiative, which is costing $2.9 billion, private dentists will provide dental care up to the value of $1000 for eligible children aged between 2 and 17 years old over a two year period; however, dentists are concerned that they are not ready for the new programme and there are worries over the claims process for eligible families.
Earlier this week, the Australian Dental Association met with Peter Dutton, the Health Minister, to ask for the launch of the scheme to be postponed to allow time for dentists to be fully briefed on the ins and outs of the initiative.
Mr Dutton refused to delay the scheme, but did promise that a review would take place to see how the scheme was getting on and identify any issues.
Dr Karin Alexander, president of the ADA, said that there are worries over grey areas in the administrative processes and dentists are concerned about making mistakes in the early stages of the programme.
Health ministers also confirmed that the name of the programme has changed from ‘Grow Up Smiling’ to the ‘Child Benefits Scheme’.
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