Medicaid programs help with children's dental-care access, report says

With only about one out of four Medicaid-enrolled children receiving dental care, a newly released report from the American Dental Association (ADA) shows how some states have initiated innovative reforms that dramatically improve access to dental care.

The report, State Innovations to Improve Dental Access for Low-Income Children: A Compendium Update, is a compilation of data drawn from each state's Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program. It addresses such barriers as poor financing, administrative red tape, lack of patient-case management and low oral health literacy.

ADA President Richard Haught, D.D.S., says the report is cause for both hope and concern.

"States continue to explore and implement commonsense, market-based reforms to their dental Medicaid programs, with some very promising results," he adds. "But much more needs to be done, and the ADA will continue to promote and advocate solutions that ease the burden of untreated dental disease on the nation's disadvantaged children."

For a copy of State Innovations to Improve Dental Access for Low-Income Children: A Compendium Update, visit http://www.ada.org/goto/medicaid.