The Administration of the Non-Insured Health Benefits Dental Care Program and Its Impacts on Nunavut's Inuit Population

Abstract

Despite the fact that state-recognized Indigenous persons in Canada are eligible for dental care benefits through the federally-funded Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program, Nunavut's Inuit suffer significant oral health disparities relative to the general Canadian population. This thesis explores how the administration of the NIHB program may contribute to the poor oral health outcomes for Nunavut's Inuit. It proposes that the program as it exists today is financially unsustainable, and is not conducive to public health objectives, identifying three possible areas of reform: the fee-for-service remuneration model, which creates financial incentives for providers to over-treat patients and is not well-suited for Nunavut's unique environment; the centralized administrative organization, which does not produce policies reflective of Inuit needs; and the provision of service days to communities, which does not follow any discernible formula. I conclude that increased devolution to an Inuit organization may offer solutions to each of these problems.

Appraising Canada's 1979 Indian Health Policy: Informing co‐development of distinctions‐based Indigenous health legislation

“…The Indian Health Policy set out to strengthen First Nations health and the relationship between First Nations peoples and the federal government, based on three pillars: “community development, the traditional relationship of the Indian people to the federal government, and a single inter‐related Canadian health system consisting of federal, provincial and community‐based elements” (Crombie, 1979; 2). The Indian Health Policy has since become the mandate of First Nations Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) and is the backbone to the Non‐Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB), a supplementary health insurance program for Status First Nations registered under the 1876 Indian Act, and Inuit recognized by an Inuit land claim organization (Indigenous Services Canada, 2021b; Moeller, 2013; Health Canada, 2012). The FNIHB is a program sector of Indigenous Services Canada, responsible for funding, planning, and delivering health services to status First Nations and Inuit communities (Indigenous Services Canada, 2021b).…”