Medicaid coverage is set by each state, and coverage for dentistry ranges from none at all (for adults in Alabama) to fairly extensive in other states. Wasn’t New York’s Medicaid dental program already generous? Why had New York State denied dental treatment to low-income people on Medicaid? So in many situations where someone with decent private dental insurance would get a root canal or a crown to save a damaged tooth, someone on Medicaid would end up simply getting the tooth pulled. The one “fix” that Medicaid would cover in most cases was extractions. And yet Medicaid, which provides health care to over five million low-income adults in New York, did not cover many basic dental procedures. I asked him to talk about why - and what is involved in the settlement.ĭental problems are some of the most common health ailments around, and though they’re seldom fatal, they can be socially crippling - imagine trying to find a job or a romantic partner when you’re missing most of your teeth - and often affect your overall health. My colleague Andy Newman wrote that the change has the potential to be as transformative as it is mundane.
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