This week the Australian Greens health spokesperson, Senator Richard Di Natale, announced the Greens dental policy in advance of the upcoming election. The policy, which has the same broad aim of bringing dentistry under Medicare, was criticised by the ADA. “Providing funding to all Australians for dental care may be a vote winner but it does not address the problems that exist,” Dr Karin Alexander, President of the ADA, said in response to the policy launch.
At the policy launch, Senator Di Natale said, “The Greens already delivered the foundations for Denticare and now we want to finish the job. From January, 3.4 million kids will be able to go to the dentist through a Medicare entitlement. And now the Greens have a fully-costed plan to expand the coverage of the entitlement over 5 years, until everyone is covered.
“We are prioritising those people who need coverage the most so pensioners would be the first additional group to be covered, followed by all concession card holders.”
But the ADA said that providing a universal $1,000 two-yearly entitlement towards dental care for all Australians through Medicare will totally fail to address the real situation that exists in Australia.
“Australia-wide, the majority of the community regularly see their dentist for treatment. We also know that there is a large proportion of the population who consciously do not correctly prioritise their dental health and choose not to obtain treatment. That said, there are others who do not see a dentist due to genuine disadvantage, whether it be due to economic, geographic or special needs barriers. It is this latter group that deserves government attention,” Dr Alexander said.
The Greens has long advocated a Denticare system, which they promised in their negotiations with the Government last year, but didn’t quite deliver. However, Senator Di Natale said, “Leaving dental out of Medicare created an enormous gap in Australia’s universal healthcare system. The high out-of-pocket costs mean that many families are unable to get treatment.
“The Greens believe that your health shouldn’t be determined by your bank balance.
“Everyone has a right to high-quality healthcare. That’s why we made dental health a priority in this term of parliament and secured an investment of almost $5 billion dollars.
“The Greens believe in universal healthcare so we won’t stop until Denticare is a reality for every man, woman and child in this country.”
