The Prime Minister has today confirmed he is preparing to axe the Child Dental Benefits Scheme.
Asked in question time to rule out axing the scheme, Mr Turnbull refused, instead making clear kids teeth will be the next victim of his endless health cuts.
“we are working on dental reform and as part of that it is only natural that the Government considers the effectiveness of current programs."
Malcolm Turnbull, Question Time, 17 March 2016
This is despite the fact that a review published just this month by the Department of Health hailed the scheme as a “success”.
“the Panel noted the success of the CDBS in targeting the oral health of young Australians at an age where preventative measures can be most effective. It supported the right of every child to access dental treatment from both the private and the public sectors.”
Report on the Third Review of the Dental Benefits Act 2008
Labor’s $2.7 billion dental program has provided 1 million Australian children with affordable dental care over the past two years, many of them children whose parents had never previously been able to afford a dentist.
Labor initiated the scheme following alarming reports by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that 42 per cent of 5 year olds and 61 per cent of 9 year olds had experienced decay in their baby (deciduous) teeth and 58 per cent of 14 year olds had experienced permanent tooth decay.
The scheme provides eligible children with up to $1000 in dental treatment every two years.
Despite the overwhelming need for the scheme, it has been under attack from the Liberals the moment it commenced.
Many parents remain unaware the scheme exists, with the Abbott and Turnbull Governments never once promoting it, a fact highlighted by the Health Department Review which noted:
“The Panel agreed that the CDBS has been poorly promoted.”
Report on the Third Review of the Dental Benefits Act 2008
After deliberately hiding the scheme from parents, the Turnbull Government is now using that lack of promotion as cover to scrap a scheme its own health department has described as a “success”
This is just the latest in a long line of attacks on dental health programs by the Liberals which has seen
- $390 cut million from adult public dental services, worsening dental waiting lists across Australia.
- $225 million cut from dental clinics in regional Australia and nursing homes.
- $125.6 million cut from the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.
Now, with the prime minister too weak to consider serious tax reform, it appears the Liberals are resorting to yet another attack on health.
This attack would come on top of the $60 billion in health cuts already announced by this government in its first 2 years in power, including $57 billion cuts from hospitals, its four year freeze on Medicare rebates for GPs and its $650 million in cuts to Medicare rebates for pathology and diagnostic imaging.
Now the government has the teeth of Australia’s kids in its sights, confirming yet again that the Liberals only ever see health as a source for Budget cuts.