Dental Care Reform

Discount dental plans are becoming increasingly popular. They tend to be more affordable, whether annually or monthly, and provide significant savings with participating dentists. These plans provide pre-negotiated discounts for most dental procedures, cover pre-existing conditions, eliminates the hassle of deductibles, less paperwork and there is no cap on the total savings.

Hundreds of years ago, the dental profession and the medical profession was perceived as two separate entities, however, this bifurcated health system has created an epidemic in oral disease with our aging population (Nagro, 2016). Dentistry should be more closely integrated with medicine and the health care system, however, organized dentistry has fought to stay a monopoly. They have protested regarding dental personnel being independent, even in the advancement of serving more rural areas, just as they repelled being part of Medicare. Finally, there are a few states that have alternative choices for a dental hygienist to travel to people who can’t get to a traditional dental office. Some of these states include Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon,

Over 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance. On top of that, almost a million emergency room visits last year resulted from preventable oral conditions. Many Americans today are unaware of how the condition of their dentition affects their overall health. Socioeconomic limitations, the lack of dental education in parents, eating habits, and simply the availability of dentists plays a key role in the state of children’s oral health; implementing a universal dental care program will help lower the barriers that many people face when it comes to receiving the dental care they need. The program will target high-risk individuals who are prone to dental caries and provide them with standard

The provision of dental treatment in Australia is a topic that ignites a wide range of opinions and emotions among the various stakeholders involved. Much of dentistry in Australia is provided in the private setting, some estimates suggesting 83%1. Australians fund up to 60% of dental care via out of pocket payments1,2. Only a relatively small amount of dental care is provided in the public sector to patients who are often disadvantaged in regards to their oral health1. It is estimated that a large amount of the population is unable to access dental care due to finances; however the capacity of the public sector to provide dental care is limited. With limited funding and resources, the public sector is unable to provide dental care for all Australians and a large proportion of people are on long wait lists, some estimates of 650,0002.

National dental health care spending averaged for 111 billion dollars for the fiscal year 2012 and the spending was steady in 2013 (7). Though ACA enabled expanded affordable coverage to the eligible people, it failed to provide any solution for the lack of dentists and increased distance to dental healthcare facilities leading to underutilization of dental

Oral health has a direct impact on the general health, hence, it is important that all Canadians have adequate access to dental care services. Over the years successive Governments have reduced financial support to programs delivering dental care to most vulnerable populations. As a result, many low income families and other vulnerable groups have been unable to access dental care. There is further escalation in the disparities in oral health care among Canadians, as the number of Canadians losing dental care benefits continues to increase. Also, higher oral health care costs can be expected in the near future due to shortage of health care professionals.

Medicaid-focused managed care has become progressively imperative to state Medicaid organizations. With healthcare reform and the enactment of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, Medicaid will possibly be the main insurer for increasing coverage to millions of low-income, uninsured Americans. Medicaid, a government funded health insurance plan overseen by the state, has supplied coverage for people with disabilities, children, pregnant women, seniors, and the indigent. Managed care plans have aimed to contract with healthcare providers and provide coverage at reduced costs (Smith & Coustasse, 2014). The ACA has helped people become eligible for Medicaid who otherwise would not be able to afford health insurance. There will be more equality between genders, before ACA, the majority of beneficiaries were female. Even though ACA has helped more people become eligible for Medicaid, there are also challenges that have risen due to this as well. The focus of this paper is on the challenges regarding Medicaid managed care and how they can be resolved. The first area discussed will be the history behind Medicaid. Then move on to the challenges of the Medicaid Managed Care Program and how they can be resolved as well as the possible solutions.

While most of the patients I interacted with were seeking non-dental care, I met patients who were seeking care to health conditions that stem from their oral health such as oral abscesses, which our team was unable to treat except for prescribing antibiotics or painkillers. I encountered similar situations when I shadowed physicians in the emergency room of hospitals, observing a variety of craniofacial disorders originating from a preventable tooth decay. From these observations, I learned that patients often did not receive treatment that addressed the root of their problems: their oral health. As the result, I learned that many physicians saw the same patient repeatedly for problems that would otherwise be easily prevented through proper preventive dental care. Determining to address the unmet needs for accessible preventive dental care, I decided to pursue a career in dentistry so that I can provide a positive and meaningful impact to the underserved community on their oral health and ultimately their overall

Thesis Statement: Dental care costs should be covered under the umbrella of Canada’s publicly funded health care system because oral health is linked to our overall health, the current insurance scheme widens the gap between the rich and poor, and the dire need for universal dental coverage is rather a major social and health care issue that has to be acted upon by the Canadian government for the Canadians.

Unlike the previous studies mentioned here, this study by Decker & Lipton (2015) looked more on adults who are covered by the Medicaid. Two key findings were revealed in this study—first of all, an increase of the likelihood of dental care visit is evidenced by those who have Medicaid coverage and second, there is also a reduction of the likelihood of untreated dental caries. It is also concluded that Medicaid is essential in promoting dental care and that it is strongly suggested that it should be expanded to further benefit a wider population of

Dental care coverage is much less dominant than medical care coverage in the United States. When compared between medical and dental coverage of adults over the age of 21, about 15 percent have no form of medical care coverage, but over 45 percent have no form of dental care coverage (Brown & Manski, 2004; Buchmueller, Miller, & Vujicic, 2014). Moreover, Americans over 65 continue to be the age group with

Regardless of your political stance, dental care is a service that all people should have access to, privately, or publicly. In the United States alone, millions of Native Americans on reservations are stifled from receiving the much needed dental care they require, the consequences are harmful to their health and prosperity.

The Canadian health care system fosters universal and comprehensive access to essential health care services (Flood, 2004). However, there have been debates on what services are necessary as espoused in the Canada Health Act (Caulfield, 1996; Caulfield & Zarzeczny, 2014; Charles, Lomas, & Giacomini, 1997). Although there are similarities among provinces in terms of core services covered under publicly funded medical care, some variability still exists across provinces (Charles et al., 1997). Under the current universal and comprehensive health care policy, oral health care is not covered under the publicly funded health care services (Leake, 2006; Quiñonez, 2013). Nonetheless, some provinces such as Alberta, Manitoba and

Indeed, the health care crisis in the United States, according to the ACA is caused by the uninsured citizens. The article, A Creeping Catastrophe, stated by the polling firm Lake Research Partners “while 47 million Americans are uninsured, 91 percent of voters in the 2008 election had some form of health insurance” (Armstrong and Wayne 3). While 47 million people sounds like an excessive amount, it essentially equals to 15% of the USA population for that year. The 15% uninsured are the homeless, drug addicts, or have a religious reason that either do not need or care to have health care insurance. Despite the uninsured and unseen these people, do receive free dental and medical care at temporary clinics, such as the clinic that are set up on weekends near Wise, VA (Armstrong and Wayne 1).

Dental care coverage is much less dominant than medical coverage in the United States. When compared between medical and dental coverage of adults over the age of 21, about 15 percent have no form of medical care coverage, but over 45 percent have no form of dental care coverage (Brown & Manski, 2004; Buchmueller, Miller, & Vujicic, 2014). Moreover, Americans over 65 continue to be the age group with the lowest