Reflector News: Letter: Oral health relies on Medicaid
This month, I traveled to Washington, D.C., with fellow representatives from the North Carolina Dental Society for the American Dental Association’s Dentist and Student Lobby Day.
This event gives us a chance to engage lawmakers about issues affecting the dental profession, but this year is particularly important. Congress is considering cuts to Medicaid, which would have disastrous effects on the oral health of hundreds of thousands of patients in North Carolina alone.
Access to routine dental care is essential for overall health and well-being. However, many adults and children in North Carolina already struggle to access critical care. Medicaid reimbursement rates for dental care in North Carolina are at the same levels that they were nearly 20 years ago. This, coupled with recent macroeconomic trends, have made it nearly impossible for dentists to treat Medicaid patients while avoiding bankruptcy.
Increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates would result in more providers treating more Medicaid patients, improving access to care and leading to reduced overall costs for the state.
That is why the North Carolina General Assembly is considering House Bill 60, “An Act to Modernize Medicaid Dental Rates,” which would increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for dental care by 30%, in line with our surrounding southern states. Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement for child dental services in North Carolina is 9-13% lower than South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
While we fight in Congress to protect Medicaid, it is vital North Carolina lawmakers advance HB 60 to ensure access to oral health care statewide.
Gary Oyster
