 plan, why I'm not signing up for it, at least not yet, and why a lot of dental professionals won't be, and why we're very disappointed in this government plan so far. So let's just get right into it. So the Canadian Dental Care Plan is they've rolled it out. They basically are making patients think that it's a free plan, that patients don't have to worry about other dental insurance, that even if they were going to sign up for one, they're not going to anymore because soon they're going to get this Canadian Dental Care Plan for their dental and they think they're going to get free dental care. I say this because when I'm talking to patients, even when I'm booking appointments, they will tell me, well, my plan should be kicking in in March, the Canadian Dental Care Plan. I'm just going to wait until then so that everything will be covered. And we all kind of thought the same thing as dental professionals. That's what we thought that our patients would be getting free dental treatment basically, but you have to think about who's paying for that free dental treatment. What ends up happening is it's not the government that's so exciting and so great that they're giving out this free dental care plan to people that need it. What ends up happening is it's more like a handout. It's more like they're handing out benefits to people, but you're not going to be fully covered. So so far what's happening is the Canadian Dental Care Plan is only using a portion of our fee guide. A fee guide is what we use to charge our patients for things like teeth cleanings. If they're getting a silver filling, a white filling, root canals, crowns, bridges, you know, we go by the fee guide. And there's a price depending on what service, what treatment you are getting. And the Canadian Dental Care Plan is only going by a certain portion of that fee guide. So they're not covering 100%. What ends up happening in most cases is the patient is going to owe 30%. So no, they don't have to owe 100% of that treatment, but the patient might be owing 30%, depending on a couple things, depending on what they're getting done. But that's not 0%. The patient doesn't have to pay 100%. So that's great. But the patient thinks they're not going to be paying anything. So what the Canadian Dental Care Plan is telling dental professionals is they don't want us to do balance billing, meaning anything that's left over what this the CDC plan, that's what we kind of call it, the CDC plan, what they're not paying us as dental professionals, well, we're not supposed to charge patients that difference. So what ends up happening is we take it at cost, which just so you know, dental professionals don't mind doing this, we don't mind helping out people that is part of our ethical responsibility is there are different government plans that allow people with low income, other things to get the dental care that they need. We don't mind taking a pay cut and we have in the past, and we continue to do so. But when this government plan is saying, oh, we are going to roll out this amazing plan, it's going to be great for people who can't afford dental care. Now they'll be able to get those crowns, bridges, teeth cleanings, whatever they need. Well, that's just simply not the case. And what I want people to think about is, is anything else getting cheaper for us? Like think of me as a person, not as a dental professional. Is my mortgage any cheaper? No. Interest rates are crazy. I am paying a small fortune for my mortgage, whereas if I just purchased my house a year ago, I'd be paying a lot less. What about my gas? What about my groceries? I go to the store and buy milk, bread, eggs, the basics here, and I'm being charged $2 more or more per item. That's called inflation, not to mention my car insurance. Anything that I need, let's just say talking about the business. My business are masks, gloves, lab coats, PPE, my instruments, my tools, my patient education materials, toothbrushes, toothpaste, are any of that cheaper? Are they giving me a break? Are they writing my expenses off? No. If anything, as dental professionals, we have to pay more. We have more overhead. We have more expenses. So now the CDC plan, the Canadian Dental Care Plan, they're telling us, well, we just want you to write off whatever isn't covered and not charge your patient that. So we don't get, let's just say 30% of what we should be getting. So we're basically running a charity here. We don't mind doing this every once in a while because that's just what we do as dental professionals. But let's just say we saw every single patient that day who's on the CDC plan. Well, that can be hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, that we're writing off a day where we should be making. Are they writing off my mortgage, business expenses, anything like that? No. I have to pay more. So how is that fair? We have to live too. We have to pay the bills as well. And we get paid according to our skills, expertise. If I wanted to work in retail, I could have done that, but I decided to become a dental professional and this is what I love to do. I love to help patients. So we're not completely writing off the CDC plan yet. I'm excited for it in the way that I want it to help patients. When I first heard about it, I thought this is amazing. A lot of my patients, I'm only seeing once a year, even though they should be getting their teeth cleaned more often. Or I'm seeing them every five years because they say, Andrea, I just cannot afford it. I cannot afford to get my teeth cleaned. Their oral health isn't healthy. So their overall health isn't healthy. So I thought, great, this CDC plan sounds so exciting. They are going to get the dental care they need. And well, not really. So I need to be able to communicate with my patients that it's not a free plan. You're still going to have to owe some money. Or if I decide to write that off, I'm taking a pay cut. But in most cases, we're not allowed to just write off the balance for patients. We can't do that with other insurance companies because then we're discriminating against those people where we're writing it off for. But when other people have to pay full price, how is that fair? As ethical professionals, we're not allowed to do that. So how is the CDC plan any different? So I'm happy because I get paid what I deserve, but then I'm charging those patients when they can't afford it. I don't know. It's a tricky thing. But did you also know that nobody is signing up for it because there's a clause. We have to sign something saying that the CDC plan can change at any time without warning. There's also something that says they are allowed to take money out of our bank accounts if they realize down the road that the money that they paid us isn't correct. If they essentially made a mistake because the CDC plan is going to change down the road. Nobody wants to sign that. We don't have to sign for these other dental insurance companies that they can take money out of our accounts anytime they want. We don't have to sign that. So why would we sign it for the CDC plan? So there's a lot of strange things. I wrote a blog article all about this. I will leave the link for you guys down below. Read through that comment. I want to know what you guys think. Were you excited about this Canadian dental care plan and then now you're disappointed? Any offices I have called, they basically said we're not signing up for it until we know more like we need to know more information. So I guess we'll just wait and see. What do you guys think? I'm hoping it's going to get better. I'm hoping they're going to change a lot of things, but ultimately they need us. This CDC plan needs dental professionals to sign up for their plan and be okay with it. They need to get their votes. This is why they're like, hey, we are going to offer this CDC plan. They need our votes. You know what I mean? So if dental professionals aren't going to sign up for it, that doesn't look good. Kind of makes you wonder a little bit, right? So it's a shame. Anyway, definitely check out the blog article. Let me know what you guys think. I'm going to be pondering it for a while, but I will not be signing up until there are some changes being made of this plan. So thank you guys for watching. Let me know if you have any questions, comment below and I'll see you in the next one.