Child Dental Benefits Schedule a "success", departmental review

The Federal Opposition says that the Government’s intention to scrap the Child Dental Benefits Schedule flies in the face of a departmental review which found that the scheme was a success.

Claiming that the Government had attempted to bury the report, Shadow Health Minister Ms Catherine King (pictured) said the Department of Health review repudiates attempts to end the scheme.

The report states: “ … the Panel noted the success of the CDBS in targeting the oral health of young Australians at an age where preventative health measures can be most effective”. Ms King noted that the report says that “the CDBS has been poorly promoted”.

Health Minister Ms Sussan Ley has said that she thinks that the means-tested scheme is not an effective use of funds.

The Australian Dental Association disagrees. Marshaling members and encouraging them to enlist the support of patients, ADA is urging the Government to retain the scheme.

Smoothies contain "unacceptably high'' levels of sugar - UK research

The sugar content of fruit drinks, including natural fruit juices and smoothies, is “unacceptably high”, according to new research by British experts.

Almost half the products assessed contained at least a child’s entire daily recommended maximum sugar intake, according to the research published in BMJ (British Medical Journal) Open.

Smoothies were among the worst offenders in terms of sugar content, despite their generally wholesome image.

The study by UK scientists looked only at products specifically marketed at children, and excluded consideration of sugar-sweetened drinks and sports drinks.

While many of the juice drinks contained sucrose (table sugar), the fructose naturally found in fruit juices is also classed as "free sugar". Free sugars include sucrose, glucose and fructose.

The fructose naturally present in fruit juices and smoothies is as likely to cause dental decay as all other sugars, and increased consumption of sugary drinks has also been linked to childhood obesity.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool assessed the sugar content of 203 fruit juice drinks, 100 percent natural juices, and smoothies. Smoothies contained the highest amount of sugar.

The British Government recently announced a tax on soft drinks.

New report reveals State, Territory health status

Tasmanians eat their vegetables, West Australians eat their fruit and Victorians are the most responsible drinkers, according to 2014-15 figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The National Health Survey provides a nationwide insight into health issues including smoking, alcohol consumption and weight across all States and Territories.

Western Australians are the most likely to consider themselves to be in excellent or very good health (60.8%) and are most likely to eat the recommended daily serves of fruit (54.2%).

At the same time, more Western Australians consume alcohol at a level that puts them at risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime according to the National Health and Medical Research Council lifetime risk guidelines (20.8%).

Tasmania’s older age distribution is only part of the story in explaining their higher rates of many health conditions including arthritis (23.4%), heart disease (7.7%) and hypertension (16.4%), however Tasmania has higher rates even after age is taken into account.

The younger population of the Northern Territory only explains part of topping the smoking rate with 20.9% of adults being current daily smokers compared to the ACT with 12.4%.

People in the ACT exercise the most with over half of adults aged 18-64 (55.5%) participating in sufficient exercise, although it has the highest proportion of hayfever sufferers (25.9%).

Victoria had the lowest risky drinking rates with the lowest proportion exceeding both the National Health and Medical Research Council lifetime (15.6%) and single occasion risk (42.5% with NSW) guidelines.

Drop 'junk' private health insurance policies, Choice tells Government

Consumer advocacy group Choice has identified seven popular "junk‟ private health insurance policies that it says are a waste of money for consumers and taxpayers, and is calling on the Federal Government to act.

These policies, from Medibank, NIB, HCF and others, come with restrictions and exclusions for the vast majority of treatments with little benefit above what is already provided through Medicare, according to Choice.

“Our analysis shows that in many cases, junk policies cover less than 1% of the services available in hospital, and exclude treatment for the most common serious illnesses such as cancer, stroke and heart disease,” says Choice Head of Media Tom Godfrey.

Choice recently encouraged health fund members to consider dropping their extras (mainly dental) insurance unless they are confident of receiving more in benefits than they are paying in premiums.

Impose tax on soft drinks in Australia, health coalition says

The Rethink Sugary Drink campaign has called on the Federal Government to investigate taxing soft drinks to encourage Australians to limit their consumption of sugary drinks.

The organisation, of which ADA is a partner, says that by limiting sugary drink consumption, it would help stem obesity.  Australia is among the top 10 countries for per capita consumption of soft drinks.  Rethink Sugary Drink is also concerned about soft drinks contributing to poor oral health.

The call for the tax follows the UK Government announcing a tax on sugary drinks.

UK to tax soft drinks

Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (pictured) has announced a sugar tax on soft drinks.

The levy on drinks with more than five grams of sugar per 100 millilitres will be introduced in two years' time as Britain attempts to cut down on spiralling childhood obesity levels.

Mr Osborne announced the measure in his annual Budget statement.

The BBC provided an explanation of the tax.

ADA is a partner of the Rethink Sugary Drink campaign which encourages Australians to reconsider their consumption of soft drinks because they can contribute to obesity, leading to poor health, and tooth decay.

Help for consumers with "junk" health fund policies - Minister

Following recommendations by consumer magazine Choice (see also Blog post below Drop private health extras cover - consumer body advises), that health fund members consider dispensing with their extras insurance, Federal Health Minister Ms Sussan Ley said that some of 40,000-plus health fund policies are “clearly junk”.

“I’m particularly concerned when I hear of patients unsure of what they’re covered for or how much they’ll be out of pocket, despite being a loyal customer for many years,” she said.

Ms Ley said as part of her reform discussions with the private health industry, she is “investigating ways to ensure consumers can compare apples with apples when they shop around”.

Meanwhile, consumers wanting free, independent comparison advice on health policies should visit the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman’s website.

Child Dental Benefits Schedule risks being chopped

The Child Dental Benefits Schedule is in danger of not continuing after 1 July. If this is the case, there appears to be no replacement scheme other than a vague possibility that funding could go to the States.

ADA Inc. is concerned about the future of the scheme following a recent meeting Federal Health Minister Ms Sussan Ley had with the National Oral Health Alliance, which included ADA Inc. She told the Alliance that she didn’t think the means-tested scheme was an effective use of funds and foreshadowed further changes, with funding to be allocated elsewhere.

This arrangement would leave the three million children eligible to receive services under the CDBS with reduced access to the vital preventive treatment the scheme currently offers. The scheme provides for up to $1000 of basic dental treatment over two years for eligible children aged two to 17 years.

The recent National Audit Office report on the scheme only criticised the scheme for poor coverage of the eligible population (30%).  Medicare statistics for 2015 also show that $312 million has been spent on 850,000 patients, which means the average cost of care is only around $367 per child. ADA also knows that 96% of patients were treated on a bulk billed basis.

ADA is urging its members to tell patients to lobby Federal MPs demanding that the scheme continues for the health and welfare of young Australians whose families are least able to afford dental care.

World Oral Health Day - 20 March

Sunday 20 March is World Oral Health Day. This year’s event aims to get everyone to recognise the impact their oral health has on overall physical health and well-being to help inspire this change.

WOHD is an international day to celebrate the benefits of a healthy mouth and to promote worldwide awareness of the issues around oral health and the importance of oral hygiene to looking after everyone, old and young.

The World Dental Federation says that WOHD is important because 90% of the world’s population will suffer from oral diseases in their lifetime and many of them can be avoided with increased governmental, health association and society support and funding for prevention, detection and treatment programs.

Members are encouraged to draw patient attention to this year's campaign.  

Drop private health extras cover - consumer body advises

Following the announcement that the Federal Government will permit private health insurance premiums to increase by 5.59%, consumer body Choice is encouraging health fund members to consider dropping their extras insurance unless they are confident of receiving more in benefits than they are paying in premiums.

The organisation says fund members need to weigh up whether they do get financial benefits from their extras insurance which covers costs such as dental check-ups. Choice says an analysis of extras cover shows low average payout rates and savings of up to 45% available to consumers who drop it.

According to Choice, the 5.59% average premium increase will see a 48.3% cumulative premium increase since 2009 and comes two weeks after Medibank announced a 58% jump in net profit.