Alberta’s health minister isn’t happy with prices coming down by just three per cent in the new fee guide published by the Alberta Dental Association and College this month, according to the CBC.
With Alberta having the highest dentistry fees of any province, the college published its first fee guide since 1997 two weeks ago. But the guide wasn’t enough to satisfy Alberta’s health minister, Sarah Hoffman, who has since instructed the association to come up with a plan to lower costs even more.
Fees in Alberta, based on the average prices for 49 different procedures, can be up to 44 per cent higher than elsewhere in Canada, according to a report by Alberta Health. The fee guide doesn’t serve as an official regulation but rather as guidance for dentists.
Read: Suggested Alberta fees for some common dental procedures almost double B.C. rates
“It was good to have had the opportunity to meet with Minister Sarah Hoffman on Wednesday morning,” said Dr. G.S. Basahti, president of the Alberta Dental Association and College, in a statement. He noted the college has committed to further discussions with the minister.
Dentists have long noted the high cost of doing business in Alberta, particularly when it comes to salaries for staff, in justifying the higher fees. But with the province’s economic boom having subsided, are Alberta’s dental fees still too high? Have your say in our weekly poll.
Last week’s poll asked whether public sector pension plans are the taxpayer burden critics say they are given the taxes retirees pay and the contributions to them from employees and investment earnings. The large majority (81 per cent) of respondents agreed public pensions are generally good for society, especially because of the wealth they can create. Only 19 per cent felt that the taxes and consumer spending generated by retirees still don’t justify the large government liabilities public sector pensions represent.
Read: Public pensions beneficial to taxpayers: advocacy group
