Increasing Access to Dental Care in Medicaid: Targeted Programs for Four Populations
Andrew Snyder, M.A.
March 2009
Medicaid programs across the United States are all too familiar with the problems publicly insured people face in obtaining oral health care. However, there are some among the beneficiary population — such as young children, pregnant women, people with developmental disabilities, and people living in rural areas — who can benefit from interventions aimed at their specific needs.
This issue brief, which draws upon a California HealthCare Foundation-funded study by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), describes strategies several states have used to better address the oral health needs of these four groups. It provides a brief description of the particular impediments that each typically contends with and the ways in which states are trying to overcome them, as well as a summary of how those efforts compare to California's programs.
The review concludes that many of the models being pursued in other states show promise, and that California policymakers, advocates, and providers should continue to study such targeted oral health care innovations with an eye toward how they might be applied California's own underserved population.
The complete issue brief is available under Document Downloads.