The Australia Greens announced on April 13th a $7.5bn a year policy to include dental into Medicare, which the party says will be a key priority if it holds the balance of power in the upcoming federal election.
The policy could be funded by “billionaires and large corporations paying their fair share of tax,” Greens leader Adam Bandt claimed.
He also said the party is “on track” to hold a balance of power in the House, and noted that the party had already won dental services for children in a deal during Julia Gillard’s minority government in 2010.
“In a balance of power, the Greens will kick the Liberals out and take climate action by stopping new coal and gas mines, and we’ll tackle the cost of living by getting dental and mental health into Medicare, fixing the housing affordability crisis and wiping student debt” Bandt continued.
Bandt stated that the policy, which the parliamentary budget office showed would cost about $7.5bn a year, could be funded by its proposed 6 percent extra tax on billionaires, and a corporate “super profits tax.”
“The money is there to pay for these plans if we have the guts to take on the billionaires and big corporations.”
“The Australia Greens will make Clive Palmer pay more tax so you can fix your teeth,” Bandt concluded.
Under the proposed policy, everyone entitled to Medicare would be able to access Medicare-funded dental care and orthodontic treatment as well as oral surgeries, periodontics and prosthodontics.
The proposal would also expand the child dental benefits scheme (CDBS) to provide recipients with unlimited therapeutic and routine dental care, including orthodontics, and allow all Medicare patients to be billed in bulk.
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