12/01/2007
Strickland puts the brakes on adult dental Medicaid restoration

ODA Staff

On Nov. 19, faced with escalating Medicaid caseloads, Governor Ted Strickland announced that his administration would delay the restoration of funding for the adult dental Medicaid program and proposed fee increases for the dental Medicaid program. Strickland also put the brakes on plans to boost reimbursements for hospitals, clinics and community providers.

According to a spokesman for the administration, Strickland decided it would be prudent to delay the increased health care spending in light of the fact that Ohio's Medicaid caseload has increased steadily during each of the past three months.

Last February, Strickland introduced his state budget proposal with a pledge to restore coverage for dental services and dental fees that were cut in the last term of the Taft administration. The governor's proposal also included a three percent increase in reimbursements for community providers, including dentists, physicians and clinics.

The Strickland administration labeled its decision as a delay in the implementation of the plan to restore the covered Medicaid dental services for adults – not a complete abandonment. The administration indicated that it would monitor Medicaid caseloads and expenditures on a quarterly basis to determine whether the state can afford to implement the plan for dental services and community providers.

David J. Owsiany, ODA's executive director, said he was "mystified and shocked" by Strickland's announcement that the state would indefinitely delay restoration of the dental benefits.

"While we understand the financial pressures facing the state's Medicaid program, the governor's eleventh hour decision is penny-wise, pound foolish, and will save the state very little money in the short term," Owsiany said.

He stated the decision would likely cost the state more money in the long run, because Medicaid patients would have to seek dental care in emergency rooms. Emergency dental services cost substantially more than treatment in dentists' offices.

"Oral health is critical to overall health," he said. "In fact, the Ohio Department of Health reports that oral health is the number one unmet health care need in the state, and eliminating the restoration of the Medicaid adult dental benefit puts our most vulnerable citizens at a greater health risk."

ODA member, Dr. John Kramer, who regularly provides dental care to Medicaid patients in his Martins Ferry office, said the delay will worsen the oral health of Ohio's most vulnerable citizens. "Many patients have made the difficult choice to postpone root canals, oral surgery and other treatments until the first of the year so the services could be covered." Kramer concluded, "These patients have been living with dental pain and now won't know where to turn."

The delay may also have a significant impact on Ohio's dental schools. "The Ohio State University College of Dentistry is one of the largest Medicaid providers in the city of Columbus and the decision not to restore adult dental services means more vulnerable citizens will go without care," said Dr. Henry Fields, ODA president and former dean and current section head for orthodontics at the OSU College of Dentistry. "Additionally, the dental college will lose a significant source of funding for its clinic, and students will be denied training opportunities for treating underserved populations in a culturally competent manner."

Continuing coverage of the status of the dental Medicaid program will be included in future issues of ODA Today and updates will be posted on www.oda.org.