Access To Dental Care Addressed In Maryland, Massachusetts

Main Category: Dentistry
Also Included In: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP;  Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 25 Feb 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The Baltimore Sun on Monday examined how Maryland has made improvements in access to dental care in the state since the 2007 death of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old Maryland boy who died after a tooth infection spread to his brain because he lacked access to dental care.

According to the Sun, access to dental care in Maryland was among the worst in the nation. A September 2007 report by the Dental Action Committee found that less than one-third of children enrolled in Medicaid were receiving dental care annually, 19% of dentists in the state provided services to children in Medicaid and half of local health departments in the state offered dental services. However, several recent efforts have helped extend access to dental care in the state. They include an increase in federal aid to fund local health centers; a streamlined Medicaid program; higher reimbursements to dentists who treat Medicaid patients; more pediatric dentistry training; and an increase in the number of dentists who serve Medicaid patients.

Community dental health awareness events also are reaching children who do not see a dentist regularly, according to Marc Nuger, president of the Maryland State Dental Association. However, officials are concerned "that the bad economy will set back efforts and that there will be less money for care at a time when people are losing their jobs and private health care," according to the Sun (Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 2/23).

Massachusetts
In related news, Massachusetts Rep. John Scibak (D) recently announced plans to launch an effort to support passage of a bill that requires all children in the state to have a dental exam before entering kindergarten, the Springfield Republican reports. The Massachusetts Dental Society, which supports the bill, could not estimate how many children in the state currently have a dental exam before entering kindergarten but noted that many children in low-income families have teeth and gum problems.

MDS also released a report which detailed a five-year plan to improve oral health in the state. The plan calls for increasing the number of dentists in the state who accept Medicaid beneficiaries. MDS also is supporting a bill by Scibak that would increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for dentists (Ring, Springfield Republican, 2/19).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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