This will be a tough sell. The states
are hurting because of decresed income
and mandated programs passed during
the halcyon days.....

Joel

Dentists seeking higher Medicaid reimbursement rate to serve the poor

Associated Press

March 9, 2005

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Dentists are calling for higher Medicaid
reimbursement rates to ease what some say is an oral health care
crisis in Connecticut affecting more than 300,000 poor adults and
children.

Fewer than 100 of 2,500 dentists in the state are willing to provide
care for substantial numbers of patients on Medicaid, according to the
Connecticut Oral Health Initiative.

Dr. Michael Goodman, a Newington dentist, said fewer than 10 pediatric
dentists in Connecticut see poor children, leading to delayed
treatment, days lost in school and more teeth lost later in life.

"Dentistry has failed children," he said.

Goodman helped the Connecticut Oral Health Initiative launch a new Web
site Tuesday in Hartford. The site, http://www.ctoralhealth.org,
provides advice on dental care and will update dentists on legislative
proposals that would affect their practices.

Poor children from as far away as Willimantic and Putnam have been
going to Goodman's Newington office to receive care. But Goodman says
he now only treats those in the most pain, because seeing too many
Medicaid recipients would harm his business.

"If there is a small hole in a tooth and a big hole, you fix the big
hole," Goodman said. "But you know those small holes will be big ones
in a year."

Medicaid reimbursements, which haven't been increased for children
since 1993 and for adults since 1989, now cover only about 60 percent
of dentists' cost to do most procedures, dentists say.

If there is no increase in the reimbursement rates, dentists say there
will be fewer providers to serve the poor, including some 200,000
children on Medicaid.

Robert Slate, executive director of the nonprofit Oral Health
Initiative, said he hopes the Web site will increase awareness of what
he calls a crisis in dental health care.

Dental health advocates want to persuade more dentists to accept poor
patients by getting the state to increase reimbursement rates to
dentists to about 75 percent of fees normally charged. The joint
state-federal Medicaid program pays about 30 percent to 35 percent of
fees normally charged by Connecticut dentists, Slate said.

The proposal would likely face a difficult future in the legislature,
where officials are dealing with a $1.2 billion deficit and a spending
cap. Some lawmakers are somewhat optimistic that such a plan could be
approved.

"I think we might be able to find ways to do this," said Sen. Toni
Harp, D-New Haven, co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee.

The courts may step in if lawmakers don't.

Legal aid advocates have sued the state for failing to provide dental
services for the poor. A request for a summary judgment has been in
federal court in Hartford since 2003, said Jamey Bell, an attorney for
Greater Hartford Legal Aid Inc.

Bell said the state would be allowed to circumvent the spending cap if
there is a court ruling in favor of Medicaid recipients.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has proposed some initiatives, including $2 million
to pay for dental equipment at community health centers in urban
areas.
 
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News Dentists seeking higher Medicaid reimbursement rate to serve the
poor

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dentists are calling for higher Medicaid reimbursement rates to ease
what some say is an oral health care crisis in Connecticut affecting
more than 300,000 poor adults and children.

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