Thursday, May 13, 2010

Federal Budget and dentistry

Dentistry did not feature in the 2010-11 Federal Budget brought down on 11 May.
The good news is that the leaks on Denticare – that it is too costly and too complicated - proved correct. The Government has stepped away from the proposal – at least for the time being. Some signals are also being given that they will seek to introduce a targeted scheme. If they did this, then the arrangements would be closer to the ADA’s proposed Dental Access Scheme.
The Budget provided funding for hospitals; primary care and super clinics; doctors, nurses; electronic health records - e-Health - for doctors (not dentists just yet) and their patients; and aged care.
The Treasurer announced funding for primary care networks, which will see some combination of the community health sector and the Divisions of General Practice, however at this stage, it is not known what the impact will be on public dentistry.
ADA Inc. will provide an overview of the Budget shortly.