We’ve been getting calls and notes from clients about the new Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).  The reason for them generally fall under 2 categories…

1.  How to code T-4’s as s required this time of year.  You can find info on our past blog posts here…

Canada is rolling out its dental care program. Here’s what you need to know

2. Can/Will the CDCP replace our dental benefits?  It us highly unlikely unless you want your employees to have a much reduced (or no) benefit.  So far we have identified a few issues.

1. Most employees will not be eligible until the final phase launching in 2025
2. Many employees will be prevented from using the plan due to the household income test
3. Most dentists are NOT expected to sign up to provide service.  In fact, many of the provincial dental associations are advising not to sign up for the national plan.This means patients may have to search out a new dentist.
4. The funding model has now been released and shows the dentists would be paid up to 40% less than a regular patient, so a big part of the cost is being paid for by dentists, not just the government.  I grabbed a few often used codes and compared to the last ODA fee guide I had (and adjusted for inflation) to check this.

Code 11111 scaling – Private plan would pay ~ $71.63,  CDCP would pay $63.00 –  12% LESS     

Code 02111 x-rays –  Private plan would pay ~ $38.66,  CDCP would pay $29.08 – 25% LESS

Code 21114 filing – Private plan would pay ~ $365.00,  CDCP would pay $209.54 – 41% LESS

Since the pandemic started we’ve had employers (and advisors) reaching out for help in handling remote workers.  This usually starts around a benefits question (if the employee is in another province or country, how does emergency travel work?), and then gets more complicated quickly (taxation, safety, tech issues etc.).

This is still a very complicated issue and several professionals will need to be consulted before allowing employees to work abroad for anything more than a short time.  CRA has provided a bit of clarity in the article below.

If you need assistance with remote workers, please reach out and we can try to assist.

The Canadian Revenue Agency is providing guidance for employers to determine the province of employment for full-time employees who are working remotely.

https://www.benefitscanada.com/news/bencan/cra-guidance-clarifying-how-employers-must-determine-province-of-employment-for-remote-workers/

As a Mainstay Insurance Brokerage client, you get some perks of my work within the industry.  One of those is free attendance at Canadian Group Insurance Brokers educational events (the association I started in 2003). 

We have two events in Vaughan (Hwy 400 and 407 area) coming up in May and June. Both are full day events aimed at benefit advisors, insurers, TPA’s and others in the industry, so you get  “fly on the wall” inside perspective.  These are a great way to increase knowledge, and if you’re in HR even get education credits.

The first, on May 8th, has a number of speakers including a discussion around renewals, and an employer panel sharing their stories, needs and expectations of advisors and insurers.  Details are HERE.

The second, on June 19th, is a smaller workshop on Building and using a benefit plan administration checklist.  As a client you’ve had this checklist explained to you (if not, come out for sure) and had it included in every years renewal package.  This workshop gets into the legal cases, taxation issues, areas of risk and employment/HR issues that employers see every day.  Details are HERE.

If either of these events are of interest and you can spend the day with us, please let me know and I’ll book a spot for you free of charge.

Special Note:  If you have HR consultants, friends, and/or business associates (best if they have a plan or want to start one) that may want to learn more about benefits, please feel free to share the info and have them reach out to me.  We find many are trying to find an advisor that specializes in benefits and don’t know where to turn.  I may not add too many new clients a year, but the room will have some great ones that can help, if I can’t.