National Dental Plan

​Here’s why I don’t think the federal plan has had, or will have any impact on employer paid group benefit plans.

1. They created their own fee guide and it’s much lower than the provincial guides. Dentists won’t want to charge less for their services which puts cost pressure on the individual
2. The MEDIAN family income in Canada is almost $93,000. So half of Canadian families make more and half make less. The key here is family income. They trick you to think lots of people qualify but that’s just not the case. This isn’t individual income, it’s everyone in the household. This program caps out at a family income of $90,000 so out of the gate,  less than half of Canadian families even qualify for the program.
3. The plan design is weak in comparison to 99% of employee benefit plans. 60% coinsurance if your family income is between $70,000 and 79,999 and 40% coinsurance for those making $80,000 - $89,000.

 
Can you imagine an employer cancelling their 80% or 100% plan so less than half of their staff can get 40% coverage? I can imagine a mass quitting.
 
Overall maximums paid have not been revealed. But the upper amount the government was reimbursing before this not robust plan design was reveled was $650 for the folks in the under $70,000 range.
 
Now, for the folks with family income under $70,000, the plan is pretty good. It covers 100% and probably a maximum of $650 per year if we assume they will use the same as the 2023 payout. Honestly not great (that max will get one one cleaning with xrays), but not bad either. Perhaps worth considering cancelling benefits if you’re an employer with lower wage employees if you're confident household income meets the threshold... but how can an employer know that?

Here’s the kicker and where advisor advice has been SO important. People are only eligible if they have no access to coverage. Employers who cancel their plan may not even push employees to the government plan. They may just take away COB and cause angry employees.