Dear Patients,

An online petition, which has already been signed by thousands of patients and dental providers across Australia has been created by the Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Oral Health at Sydney University (Dr Hans Zoellner) to demonstrate to the government how many people the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme has affected and try and get the program reinstated.

If this program is reinstated, we will be able to continue bulk billing our patients under medicare beyond the 30th of November.

Parliament will be sitting again in a couple of days where the CDDS programme will be debated. The more online signatures we can add to this petition the better chance we have of having this scheme reinstated.

Please see the letter below from Dr Zoellner:

Dear Concerned Citizen

The “Protect Dental Medicare for People with Chronic Disease Petition” is the last chance to protect the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme that has been so successful in helping 1.5 million Australians, and which the Government will close at its next sitting unless we can persuade the Independents and Greens to support a disallowance motion by the Coalition in the lower house.

I write this now to ask if you could please add your name to it, as well as forward this email to your further friends, colleagues and those who you may represent.

You can read more and sign the petition here:

http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/protect-dental-medicare-for-people-with-chronic-disease

By way of background, although dentistry is not included in Medicare for most people, for the last 4.5 years people with chronic disease have been eligible for up to $4250 dental Medicare rebate.

The Government wants to close this scheme, and send these patients back to the public system, and although Government says that additional money will be provided for public dentistry to help these patients, the reality is that the public dental waiting lists will simply grow and these patients will not be treated.

With 1.5 million people having used the scheme, we all will have family and or friends who are affected, but there is a very short time because parliament will debate the issue once it resumes in early October to collect the necessary signatures, so please do sign at:

http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/protect-dental-medicare-for-people-with-chronic-disease

Can you also take a moment to please share the petition by forwarding this email to others, or share this link on Facebook or Twitter:

http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/protect-dental-medicare-for-people-with-chronic-disease

Further, I have established a twitter account @DentalMedicare, where you can follow updates on the campaign.
In addition to signing the petition, if you would like to further register your concern directly with the politicians most involved, you might want to write to:

Minister for Health and Ageing The Hon T Plibersek: tanya.plibersek.mp@aph.gov.au
Who is working to close dental Medicare for people with chronic disease

Independent Member for New England The Hon T Windsor: tony.windsor.mp@aph.gov.au
Who has supported dental Medicare for many years, but seems uncertain now

Independent Member for Lyne The Hon R Oakeshott: robert.oakeshott.mp@aph.gov.au
Who does not seem to have had taken a clear position on dental Medicare yet

Independent Member for Denison The Hon Andrew Wilkie: andrew.wilkie.mp@aph.gov.au
Who said on entering parliament that he wanted dentistry in Medicare, but who has now changed sides and supports the Government to close the scheme

Senator for Victoria, The Hon Richard DiNatale: senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au
Who unexpectedly changed Greens Dental policy from supporting the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme, to wanting to axe it.

Perhaps you would like to contact your local member as well.

Thank you for your help, it is very much appreciated.

Hans Zoellner
Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Oral Health
Head of Oral Pathology, The University of Sydney
dentalmedicare@gmail