13 October 2021

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ADA Case study: increasing Medicaid insurance coverage with dental benefits to advances patient outcomes

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Expanding Medicaid coverage to include dental benefits has ultimately improved patient outcomes in Colorado, according to a new case study authored by the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine and the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.

The study, “Expanding Dental Benefits Is Good for States. Just Ask Colorado,” arrives as the infrastructure bill is making its way through Congress, putting a renewed focus on expanding adult dental benefits under Medicaid.

The lead author, Tamanna Tiwari, assistant professor in the Department of Community Dentistry and Population Health at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, and Julie Frantsve-Hawley, Ph.D., director, Analytics and Evaluation for the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, stressed the importance of expanding public programs, such as Medicaid, based on Colorado’s experience.

A comprehensive Medicaid dental benefit offers the opportunity for low-income adults to retain their teeth and have an overall better quality of life, said Ms. Tiwari.

“The remaining states who currently choose not to offer dental benefits for adults should look to the initial successes in Colorado,” she said.

Colorado was one of the states that chose to expand Medicaid adult dental benefits under the Affordable Care Act, Dr. Frantsve-Hawley said. As of 2014, adult Medicaid-eligible members could receive up to $1,000 annually toward the cost of dental services, and in 2019, the cap was raised to $1,500. The benefit covers procedures such as dental exams, crowns, partial dentures and root canals.

Source: https://www.ada.org/