Dental scheme close to collapse

THE Irish Dental Association is threatening to completely withdraw free treatment from one million medical card holders because, it claims, the government has refused to fully reimburse the dentists for the treatments they carry out.

The Irish Dental Association (IDA) said the Dental Service Treatment Scheme (DTSS) which provides free oral healthcare to medical card holders, is “on the verge of collapse” because the Department of Health and Health Service Executive will not review the way the scheme is administered nor pay the dentists what they are entitled to.

According to Maurice Quirke, Chairman of the IDA’s General Dental Practitioner Group, there were 1,300 dentists taking part in the General Medical Service scheme.

“At the end of last year, in their last report they had somewhere between 850 and 900 contracts,” he said. “They have lost another 150-200 in the last month or so. Regrettably payments received from the Health Service Executive have failed to increase even in line with inflation. Dentists have had to cover the costs and overheads associated with providing this service to their community.”

He added that the matter is more than a financial claim. “We have been seeking this review for six and a half years to try and resolve the bureaucracy that is involved in this thing.”

Dr Quirke said the wait can sometimes be several months even though there is an obligation on the HSE under the current contract to approve or reject the treatments within 30 days.

The IDA will issue ballot papers this week. It will be a two-week ballot period and it hopes to announce the result the day after that. Action would be immediate.

However, the HSE said the claims of the IDA were ‘inaccurate and misleading’.

“The HSE is conscious of the need to ensure that the processes used to determine fees for contract holders are consistent with the law of the land in all respects.

“During the course of the review a legal issue arose in relation to the setting of fees with individual undertakings such as private dental contractors.

“The IDA was fully appraised of this situation and at their request, pending receipt of clarification on the legal issue from the Office of the Attorney General, discussions on this aspect of the review were temporarily put on hold. A determination on this issue by the Office of the Attorney General is expected soon.”