Patrick Spencer isn’t the only Yukoner who had to pay out of pocket for dental work because they didn’t properly renew with the Yukon dental program by the end of last June.
Representatives from two dental clinics the News spoke with have dealt with patients who didn’t know their publicly funded insurance coverage ended June 30, 2023. How many people are affected and the total paid out of pocket remains unknown.
The News reached out by phone to a third dental clinic — the one Spencer said he had visited — but wasn’t able to conduct an interview by print deadline.
“It seems like the government was just super negligent,” Spencer told the News by phone on Jan. 3. He said his dental clinic informed him about the need for annual renewal. He is seeking “awareness and maybe some accountability for incompetence” with the rollout of the Yukon dental program.
Katlyn Fabish works at the front desk at Whitehorse Dental Clinic.
Fabish said by phone on Jan. 9 that almost every client that attended the downtown clinic expecting to be covered under the Yukon dental program only found out that they weren’t covered by insurance after June 30, 2023, because they hadn’t renewed when the clinic told them.
The territory-wide dental program started providing up to $1,300 per year in benefits to Yukoners without insurance on Jan. 4, 2023. The Yukon government’s press release from launch day indicates coverage ends June 30 each year. The government’s website also currently states the renewal date. Yukoners must apply and be approved to the income-tested program annually.
The program was introduced by the Yukon Liberal Party government, fulfilling a pledge in the confidence-and-supply agreement, known as CASA, between the Liberal and Yukon NDP caucuses. The program is administered by Pacific Blue Cross.
Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee was not available for an interview. Neither was anyone in the department. The department didn’t respond to emailed questions by print deadline.
In the government release from last winter, McPhee said all Yukoners should have access to dental care. She said the program will help close a gap in service.
Cabinet communications pointed to a news release from last summer. On July 18, 2023, the Yukon Liberal Party caucus issued a press release reminding eligible Yukon residents to re-enroll in the program.
According to briefing notes prepared for the minister for the fall sitting of the Yukon Legislative Assembly, 1,255 individuals had enrolled in the program between the program launch and June 30, 2023. During that time, 614 of those individuals got dental care.
Per the briefing notes, as of Sept. 8, 2023, a total of 1,164 individuals had been approved for the coverage year beginning on July 1, 2023, and ending on June 30, 2024.
Chanel Newell is a manager at Klondyke Dental Clinic.
During a Jan. 3 interview by phone, Newell said less than 10 clients of the clinic who enrolled early in the Yukon dental program unknowingly had their coverage lapse and had to pay out of pocket for dental work after June 30, 2023.
“It was quite a shock to patients,” Newell said. “The patients were upset because they go on the Yukon dental program mainly because they need help, and they need insurance coverage.”
Newell said the clinic reached out to the program to take action on the issue.
“They’re very open and willing to work with us,” Newell said.
Newell said the clinic now works with the program to inform patients about the need to renew.
Newell is rooting for the Yukon dental program.
“They are working with the patients, and they are doing the absolute best that they can to provide coverage for them,” Newell said. “I would really encourage patients to follow up with them if they have any questions or require any additional information about the Yukon dental program.”
During a Jan. 11 interview by phone, Yukon Party health critic Brad Cathers said it’s “understandable” that people weren’t aware about the need to renew by a certain date.
“I don’t think it was clearly communicated,” Cathers said.
“The second issue with this application deadline is it seems to be an inefficient model that increases the paperwork burden.”
Cathers said he has observed a pattern of CASA commitments being announced and “what’s actually being delivered being a paler version of the original announcement, and really not helping some of the people who were thinking this would benefit them.” He cited the fare-free transit and walk-in clinic commitments as examples in addition to the Yukon dental program.
When Yukon NDP Leader Kate White spoke with the News by phone on Jan. 11, she said the reapplication process is “fair” given that it’s income tested. White said the program application form has stated the renewal date since January 2023.
“There have been some hiccups with the program, including people saying that they didn’t know that they needed to reapply,” she said, adding that people will “get used to it.”
“I’m sorry that people got caught […] That’s regretful.”
While White hasn’t heard directly from anyone and wasn’t aware if her office had heard from Yukoners on the matter, NDP spokesperson Laurie Tritschler qualified that staff had received some inquiries on it, but the numbers were “small.”
White suggested the Yukon government run an ad campaign to communicate the need to reapply for the Yukon dental program each year. She noted the potential of the program to help thousands of Yukoners — up to 8,000, according to the territorial government — access dental coverage.
“The program we have in the Yukon far exceeds that of what the federal government has rolled out,” she said.
It remains unclear how the rollout of the federal dental program will impact Yukoners and the territorial dental program.
“In May 2023, the federal government asked provinces and territories if they would like to opt out of the program. Yukon chose not to opt out as there was insufficient information at the time,” reads the health minister’s briefing notes.
“While the Government of Yukon has implemented our territory-wide dental program, the department is keen to understand in greater detail the federal plans and how they might impact public dental programs in the Yukon. Work is ongoing on this front.”
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com