Study of private dental subsidisation in Australia

While it is well recognised that many Australians report affordability issues related to accessing private dental care, it is also understood that many private dentists are easing this hardship by foregoing part of their standard fee for treatment. This equates to private dental subsidisation and includes the following examples: not charging a gap between patient's insurance reimbursement and the dentists' usual-and-customary fee, providing discounted treatment (charging below the usual-and-customary fee), "pro-bono publico" (no charge for a service) and unintended subsidisation (writing off bad-debts).

While there has been extensive focus placed on the contribution made by the Australian Government in subsidising dental care, there has been virtually no documentation of the contribution made by the private sector. Given that the private sector is the main provider of dental health services in Australia, the extent of private dental subsidisation is a significant issue warranting research attention. Therefore, the broad purpose of this study is to document the nature, distribution and extent of private dental subsidisation in Australia.

Project coordinator: Dr Suzanna Mihailidis