State to upset dentists: Medicaid proposal won’t hurt a bit, By Adam Beam (AP), August 2, 2016, Ledger-Enquirer: “In his mid-30s, Jonathan Hensley was unemployed and caring for some disabled family members. He needed to take care of himself, too, because his teeth hurt. Historically in Kentucky, someone like Hensley — a single, able-bodied adult with no job — would likely not have had health insurance. But because the state expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act in 2013, Hensley and some 400,000 other Kentuckians got taxpayer-funded medical, dental and vision coverage. Hensley, now 37, got some needed fillings. That routine dental coverage is now at risk, as Gov. Matt Bevin seeks to overhaul the state’s Medicaid system…”
Tag: Dental care
Medicaid and Dental Care – California
California’s dental safety net fails most clients, report says, By David Gorn, April 6, 2016, National Public Radio: “California’s dental health system for the poor is dysfunctional, according to a report by a bipartisan oversight commission. A more vivid description comes from Pedro Nava, the commission’s chairman: ‘In California we have kids’ teeth rotting out of their heads,’ he says. ‘That’s utterly inexcusable.’ The program, Denti-Cal, ranks among state government’s greatest deficiencies, according to the report released last week by the Little Hoover Commission, an independent oversight agency. One third of the state’s population is eligible to use Denti-Cal for subsidized dental care, including more than half of the state’s children…”
Medicaid and Dental Care – Idaho
Dentists push for higher pay from Idaho Medicaid, By Audrey Dutton, February 17, 2016, Idaho Statesman: “Jack Klure has been working as a dentist for 40 years, half of those in the Boise area. He sees 30 to 40 paying customers a week who have private health insurance or pay cash. But he and other Idaho dentists say they have given up on seeing Medicaid patients — a group that includes many Idaho children — because the government health insurance doesn’t pay enough, so they are pushing for higher reimbursement rates. The state’s Medicaid reimbursement rate to dentists is slightly below the national average. As a percentage of the dentists’ full-price fee, reimbursements have decreased about 25 percent over the past 10 years, according to the American Dental Association…”