April 13, 2004

By: Victor Nessbit
Website: http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com

Dental Coverage – State Budget Cavities Threatening Medicaid Dental Coverage

Basic dental services are being threatened with painful cuts as a result of growing state budget deficits, reports Oral Health America. Research by the independent group finds that most states are considering deep cuts or eliminating already meager dental programs. Current Medicaid law allows for dental services, if chosen by the state. Medicare does not cover dental care, leaving millions of uninsured adult and elderly Americans at risk and in pain.

Current and looming cuts to Medicaid dental benefits are worse than drilling a cavity without Novocain, said Robert Klaus, President of Oral Health America. We are not only talking about necessary preventive services here. People with devastating dental problems will not be able to get even minimal treatment. With growing numbers of Americans without work and dental insurance, we are headed into a real and painful crisis.

Medicaid dental cuts are being viewed as a step back from recent progress in oral health following a 2000 report by the U.S. Surgeon General calling attention to a silent epidemic of oral disease in our nation. Many states, including California, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon and Washington responded to the epidemic by increasing reimbursement rates and expanding dental services. Now these are among the states that are scaling back or pulling Medicaid dental benefits all together. Some states including Massachusetts and Oregon have dropped their dental programs entirely.

Author Notes:

Victor Nessbit contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com.  Everything you need to know to get a whiter, brighter smile!