Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Rounds Up States’ Efforts To Increase Access to Dental Care

A recent study conducted by the advocacy group Oral Health America gave the nation a "C" grade on overall dental care and found that at least 33% of Americans do not see a dentist even once a year (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/29). The following is a summary of recent efforts to increase access to dental care in four states:

• California: As part of the "Dentists with a Heart" day on Feb. 14, about 500 low-income Santa Clara County children will receive free dental exams and treatment. The Health Trust, an advocacy group for the uninsured, and the Santa Clara County Dental Association are sponsoring the event, and 50 area dentists are donating their time and services. David Lees, director of the Health Trust's children's dental initiative, said that more than 115,000 county children ages five to 17 do not have access to dental services (Skipitares, San Jose Mercury News, 2/13).
• Colorado: The state will spend $2.2 million and receive $4.1 million in federal money this year to include a dental benefit in its CHIP program, Child Health Plan Plus. Families will pay up to $5 per dentist appointment and coverage will include exams, cleanings, X-rays, fillings, routine extractions and some root canals. Colorado is "one of only a few" states that currently does not provide dental coverage through CHIP (Auge, Denver Post, 2/7).
• Georgia: The state Department of Human Resources is "in the process" of submitting a Medicaid waiver proposal to the federal government that, if approved, would allow the state to use some of the $175 million it already receives in federal funding for services for the mentally retarded on dental care for those individuals. Georgia has received two waivers from the federal government to provide services not covered by Medicaid to about 8,000 people with mental retardation. Georgia's Medicaid program currently provides dental services only to children and beneficiaries with emergency situations. Developmentally disabled adults on Medicaid have a particularly hard time finding dental care, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports (Lufrano, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 2/8).
• New York: Unless more dentists across the state begin treating Medicaid beneficiaries, state Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello said she would halt increased Medicaid rates to dentists agreed upon two years ago in a legal settlement. The Dental Society of New York State sued the state in February 1999 over low Medicaid reimbursement rates and reached an agreement with the state in 2000 that required New York to increase payments by $579 million over four years. The settlement was supposed to result in more dentists participating in Medicaid. But Novello said that since the settlement, only 400 additional dentists, a 7% increase, have begun participating in the program. Novello added, "[I]f I don't see the 400 going higher, I will make sure that increase (in funding) is considered to be a little bit on hold until I see the numbers increasing" (Gormley, AP/Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, 2/12).