Dental News
The more Medicaid pays dentists, the more at-risk children visit a dentist says a study appearing in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study looked at nationwide data for the years 2000 through 2008. Researchers focused on Medicaid payment levels to dentists. They also looked at whether children had visited a dentist in the last 6 months. For each $10 increase in Medicaid payments, children on Medicaid were about 4% more likely to have a recent dental visit.
Nevertheless, children on Medicaid are less likely than those with private insurance to have regular dental visits. Only about 55% of children on Medicaid see a dentist regularly. This compares with 68% of children who have private insurance. Medicaid appears better than no insurance, however, as only 27% of uninsured children saw a dentist regularly. Among children ages 2 to 8, about 25% have untreated tooth decay.
Medicaid covers about 1 in 4 U.S children. Dentists and physicians do not have to accept Medicaid. About 73% of pediatric dentists participate in the Medicaid program. Nearly all pediatricians (93%) participate. Low payment for services provided is often cited as the principal reason for the lower level of dentist participation. Other studies have linked higher payments with increased dentist participation.
Although Medicaid is a federal program, it also receives state funding. So Medicaid payments to dentists vary by state. In 2008, payments to dentists for a child preventive visit ranged from less than $20 to about $60. The average payment, all states combined, was about $30 per child visit.
I guess state governments should try to increase the funding for dentists' services so that there’ll be more participation among them. Imagine if there are only few dentists participating on this program and there is a number of children to avail their services. It would be hard to accommodate so much while receiving so little.
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