Dental Scheme Targets 4 Million
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday October 9, 2001
Labor will restore the national dental scheme for pensioners and low-income earners but it will operate on a quarter of the funding of the original program scrapped by the Coalition in 1996.
Half of the $100 million, four-year program will come in 2004-05. Just $20 million is allocated for the first two years.
More than 4 million people those with healthcare cards and pensioner concession cards will be eligible but Labor said the money would only be enough for an extra 400,000 free visits to the dentist.
Priority will be given to those needing emergency care but the scheme is also designed to provide access to regular dental services and low-cost denture repairs.
National benchmarks will be set in conjunction with the states, and measures will be introduced to send dentists to the bush and other areas with shortages.
In defending the relatively meagre outlay of funds, the Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, said: ``John Howard and Peter Costello have vandalised the Australian Budget over the course of the last 12 months for no good purpose and we live with the consequences of that.
``Clearly, if more resources become available, we'll put more resources into this."
The abolition of the $100million-a-year Commonwealth dental scheme in 1996 has resulted in a slide in treatment for the elderly and low-income earners.
Earlier this year the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that welfare recipients were more likely to suffer toothache and forgo some foods since the scheme was axed.
Waiting lists for free treatment have also blown out, with some people waiting up to four years for assistance.
In a campaign last month, dentists and welfare groups united in a ``stop the rot" drive, which included the delivery of a tin of baby food to every federal politician.
It related stories of pensioners eating only soft foods using one side of their mouth because they could not receive timely treatment.
The alliance of dentists and welfare groups also said the Government's 30 per cent rebate for private health insurance was an effective subsidy of $345 million a year to higher-income earners whose health insurance included dental care.
The executive director of the Australian Dental Association, Dr Robert Butler, who headed the campaign, welcomed the Labor plan.
``It's not as much money as you'd like but it's better than the alternative, which is nothing," he said. ``The Coalition has given no indication it will do anything."
The Prime Minister yesterday derided the Labor policy, saying dental care was a state responsibility. It was inconsistent, he said, to promise to roll back the GST and deprive the states of funding while throwing more money at their responsibilities.
The Health Minister, Michael Wooldridge, said a Labor government would have to abolish the health insurance rebate on extras to fund the plan.
``Labor thinks it can fool the Australian public with a grab-bag promise which hasn't been properly costed and is only intended for short-term popularity on the campaign trail," Dr Wooldridge said.
Labor's dental policy release was the third in successive days and continues a trend of announcing four-year programs worth about $100 million.
Dr Wooldridge said it was interesting to note that Labor promised a $100 million-a-year dental scheme during the 1998 election but was now offering $100 million over four years.
Labor will not know the figures for the state of the Budget until the middle of next week.
© 2001 Sydney Morning Herald
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