With growing recognition of the economic and health costs of poor dental health and an influx of federal pandemic dollars, six states began or expanded their Medicaid programs this year to provide coverage for adults.
Danielle Wilkes is seen by a dentist in Nasvhille on Sept. 7. Wilkes waited five years to have her teeth repaired after getting several teeth knocked out in a car wreck. She was able to receive dental care after an expansion of the state's Medicaid program.NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For months, Carlton Clemons endured crippling pain from a rotting wisdom tooth. He couldn’t sleep, barely ate and relied on painkillers to get by.
Dr. Victor Wu, the chief medical officer for Tennessee’s Medicaid program, said he was pleased with the rollout of Medicaid dental benefits that started in January, but he acknowledges the state needs to build out its network and increase the participation rate among dentists. Hawaii, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, Maryland and New Hampshire were the latest to begin or expand their dental coverage; they did so this year.
“We are focused on removing roadblocks that prevent people from getting back into the workforce, and this program does just that,” he said.budgeting $282 million for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years to cover dental procedures for more than a million recipients. Last year, Kansas gave dental access to nearly 137,000 Medicaid recipients at a cost of $3.5 million in 2022 and $1.2 million in 2023.
“It’s almost like we’re incentivizing our dentists not to treat the ones that are in need, because we don’t pay them even half of what they could get from private insurers,” she said.
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Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residentsA growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth problems.
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Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residentsA growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth problems
Read more »
Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residentsA growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth problems
Read more »
Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residentsA growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth problems.
Read more »
Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residentsA growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth problems.
Read more »