Joy SpearChief-Morris has been awarded the 2025 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship, aimed at promoting Indigenous perspectives and enhancing awareness of Indigenous issues in Canadian media.
Janine Manning required a root canal procedure due to a specific tooth injury, which led her dentist to refer her to a specialist. Manning, a member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation in southern Ontario, relies on the federal Non-Insured Health Benefits program for coverage, including dental care. Despite this, when it came time to settle the bill, Manning discovered that the program would only cover $159 of the $2,200 procedure cost. With partial coverage from her private insurance, Manning still had to pay close to $600 out of her pocket.
The Non-Insured Health Benefits program includes coverage for services like dental care, vision care, mental health counseling, prescriptions, and medical supplies. However, both dentists and program users, such as Manning, have raised concerns about the program’s outdated structure and its inability to keep pace with modern dental costs and procedures. The administrative complexities within the program have led to accessibility challenges, with dentists opting out of the program, leaving First Nations and Inuit individuals facing difficulties in obtaining necessary dental care.
Caroline Lidstone-Jones, CEO of the Indigenous Primary Healthcare Council, highlighted that barriers to accessing dental care are a major issue under the NIHB program. Long wait times, partial approvals, provider limitations, and travel obstacles contribute to untreated dental problems escalating into preventable tooth loss. Lidstone-Jones personally experienced the frustrations of navigating the system when she had to undergo a root canal, facing multiple rounds of paperwork and delays in receiving coverage.
Dr. Aaron Burry, CEO of the Canadian Dental Association, emphasized the urgent need for modernization within the NIHB program to align with current dental practices. Burry highlighted the challenges faced by patients and dentists in obtaining approval for necessary procedures under the program’s outdated processes. The lack of responsiveness, delayed payments, and complex authorization procedures have led to a negative perception among dental providers, resulting in many choosing to opt out of the program.
David McLaren, president of the First Nations Health Managers Association, shared concerns about the difficulties faced by community members in accessing dental care under the NIHB program. McLaren pointed out the inconvenience of finding dentists willing to bill the program and highlighted instances where travel expenses were not covered despite the program’s provisions for medical travel.
The need for a comprehensive review of the NIHB dental program was stressed by Dr. Scott Leckie, a long-time dentist and program advocate, to streamline administrative processes and ensure alignment with industry standards. Both Leckie and Burry advocated for fee structures within the program to be updated to match those established by provincial dental associations, facilitating a more efficient and equitable system for patients and providers.
Despite issued recommendations and promises of ongoing improvements, challenges persist within the NIHB program, hindering access to essential dental care for Indigenous communities. The call for a more efficient, patient-centric, and provider-friendly program remains crucial to address the pressing oral health needs of First Nations and Inuit individuals.
