Low-income children still short on good dental care
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Allyson Feinstein, pediatrics dental resident, examines 12-year-old patient Samantha Agostino of Cuddy at the Pitt dental clinic with Debra Evans, dental assistant, standing by.
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Nearly 104,000 children in Allegheny County are covered by Medicaid, yet even though they are required to enroll in a managed care organization, a new study suggests a significant percentage of them did not see a dentist in 2009.
The online report by the Pennsylvania Medicaid Policy Center at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health found that Medical Assistance covered about 1 million, or 35.5 percent, of all Pennsylvania children last year. Only 42.8 percent of children enrolled in managed care had an annual visit to a dentist.
"Oral health is an important component of overall physical health and well-being," the report says.
"...Tooth decay can produce illness and difficulty with daily activities such as eating, speaking and excessive missed school hours. Poor oral health among low-income children might also lead to serious medical problems and even death."
Managed care is required for recipients of Medical Assistance, Pennsylvania's name for Medicaid, in the 10-county Southwest and Central regions and the five-county Southeast region. Children in the remaining 28 counties can voluntarily enroll in managed care if a program is available; otherwise, reimbursements to dentists are fee-for-service.
The managed care organizations are required by the state to have a network of dental providers.
Therein lies a problem. According to the study, only 26 percent of practicing dentists treated at least one Medicaid patient between May 2009 and April 2010.
"There's not anything different than if they'd done [the study] five years ago or 10 years ago," said Robert J. Weyant, associate dean, the Office of Public Health and Outreach at the Pitt School of Dental Medicine. "It's an age-old problem with Medicaid. The participation rates are low -- not only the number of dentists who participate, but the number of procedures they do if they do participate."
First Published June 16, 2010 12:00 am
