Medically necessary, but denied

[maryjane48]

Alberta mother's battle puts spotlight on First Nations medical care rejections
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mother- ... -1.3456562
Shared via the CBC News Android App



more govt ineptness

[MAPearce]

8 grand ?? meanwhile , the chief of that band makes ?????

but we'll never know because of

more govt ineptness

[ohgeeze]

Since nobody has asked...I will...Do they live on a reserve? Are they on Income Assistance? Do either parents work and do they have dental care through their employers?

This doesn't sound unfair...I'm white...I need a crown for my root canal...I'm on a disability, I'm a single mom...guess what, it's not covered. I have diabetes and risk infection, only other option is to have the tooth pulled.

[Muzza]

My son is status native, but he wasn't covered for his orthodontics, so I paid for them, even though it was a financial strain. I didn't go crying to anyone about it. I just went ahead and did what had to be done.

[JLives]

It should be covered but for everybody. We're shelling out 10 grand to fix our daughter's teeth right now. And we had to pay $1,500 up front to have 2 teeth surgically extracted as they were fusing to her bone. She never formed her adult 2nd upper bicuspids. Medical doesn't cover any of this. She is very lucky we were able to pay for that or she would have had to live with a lot of pain. It's pretty ridiculous.

[maryjane48]

It should be covered but for everybody. We're shelling out 10 grand to fix our daughter's teeth right now. And we had to pay $1,500 up front to have 2 teeth surgically extracted as they were fusing to her bone. She never formed her adult 2nd upper bicuspids. Medical doesn't cover any of this. She is very lucky we were able to pay for that or she would have had to live with a lot of pain. It's pretty ridiculous.

i agree that if it is not just for looks then it should be covered 100 percent .

[Atomoa]

Dental should be part of medical.

In 2013 59,000 people visited Ontario hospitals for dental problems because they had no insurance. That's 30 million dollars worth of dental visits. 218,000 people went to their doctors for dental problems in 2012.

http://www.aohc.org/Information-Hospita ... ms-Ontario

That's just Ontario.

I personally almost lost a tooth because of a cavity/root canal that I couldn't afford to fix. It abscessed which caused me to go to the Emergency room twice to get my mouth frozen so I could sleep. It "only" cost me a month of wages and set me back a year or so.

[Donald G]

I sure wish that I had someone I could complain to to get $8,000.00 worth of free dental from instead of paying it my self. As a federal government retiree paying Blue Cross extra I am entitled to $2000.00 per year in dental work.

My wife had a severe over bight that one dentist told her would cost $10,000.00 to fix and involve dental surgery was completely repaired by another far less greedy Dentist using long term braces. I wonder if the situation described is similar.
Was the possibility of braces not looked at when she was younger or are we talking dental neglect until the situation required that something be done. A regular set of false dentures is now around $12,000.00.

If Natives qualify for free Federal Dental why do other Canadians not qualify ??

[zookeeper]

*removed*

If Natives qualify for free Federal Dental why do other Canadians not qualify ??

If Natives qualify for free dental why are they being denied?

Some posters can not seem to define the difference between medical and dental because it involves teeth. I know someone who has a medical disease that causes bones to disintegrate and/or fuse. Braces and guards would slow the progress of the already disintegrating jaw, denied by the medical system.

Doesn't matter what color you are, what income bracket you are in, a medical disease is a medical disease. Welcome to the Canadian medical system, don't complain just pay for it yourself.

[Rosemary1]

All Canadians should be equally entitled to necessary health and dental benefits and care. There are apparently an estimated 6 million Canadians that go without dental care. This is not a FN issue alone.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/high-costs ... -1.2004438

The Canada Health Act does not cover dental care. Canadians without dental plans must pay for their own dental care. While there are clinics that provide free dental care for low income Canadians these are few and far between and overwhelmed

First Nations are also covered by the NIHB (Non-Insured Health Benefits) Program that provides a range of additional services not covered by other plans or programs including eye care, dental care, some medical supplies, prescriptions and dental care.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/nihb ... in-eng.php

One of the things that may be harder for some Canadians in need is just knowing what assistance is available
and how to navigate through a bureaucratic and imperfect system to get it

[Even Steven]

I personally almost lost a tooth because of a cavity/root canal that I couldn't afford to fix. It abscessed which caused me to go to the Emergency room twice to get my mouth frozen so I could sleep. It "only" cost me a month of wages and set me back a year or so.

Let's be honest, that could have been prevented with some basic dental hygiene such as brushing and flossing - not expensive at all. An annual visit to a dentist for some cleaning is also won't set you back a year. If everybody stops brushing and flossing and will require a root canal ever year, our system will simply go broke. People should be responsible for their own dental care.

But I do understand there are cases where people are born with certain defects that should be fixed. I don't know if the OP story was about it.

[maryjane48]

well if you read it a doctor said it was a medical issue and not a cosmetic one

[Ken7]

Dental should be part of medical.

In 2013 59,000 people visited Ontario hospitals for dental problems because they had no insurance. That's 30 million dollars worth of dental visits. 218,000 people went to their doctors for dental problems in 2012.

http://www.aohc.org/Information-Hospita ... ms-Ontario

That's just Ontario.

I personally almost lost a tooth because of a cavity/root canal that I couldn't afford to fix. It abscessed which caused me to go to the Emergency room twice to get my mouth frozen so I could sleep. It "only" cost me a month of wages and set me back a year or so.

Lets stop for a moment. Who will pay for all of this? Where do you draw the line, maybe ones teeth are not very good looking, so should they get cosmetic dentistry veneer all their teeth, so they have the perfect smile? I believe dental and medical is part of a treaty right, I could be wrong. However if it is, then it should not be questioned.

Now if it is for ones personal appearance or enhancement, that I could see being denied. I do hope Trudum does get this straightened out for the First Nation people, although long term I hope they clear the treaties, pay their debt and all will be Canadian and be on the same page.

As for dental being covered by medical, do you want to pay your share to be covered, if not ... forget it, as I don't want to pay your child's dental care!

[maryjane48]

i agree with everything you said except you do not your taxes to pay for anyone elses dental work . well correct me if wrong but i wasnt aware we could direct where our tax money ends up . and is not the whole idea of paying taxes to provide all canadians with better services ? i agree cometic should not covered but anything medical should .

[Donald G]

Unread postby maryjane48 » 6 minutes ago

i agree cometic should not covered but anything medical should .

I would suggest that this is not medical or it would have been done ages ago. Pretty well all overbite problems are cosmetic or the medical problem would have been dealt with as the medical situation occurred. Cosmetic surgery is not covered on any dental plan that I have ever seen, which includes Federal Government, DVA, PSPA and BC Teachers plans.