Oral Health

Medicaid and CHIP programs have made significant strides in improving low-income children’s access to and use of dental care, but access to oral health care for low-income adults lags far behind. To probe current opportunities, challenges, and strategies related to expanding access to oral health care for adults in Medicaid, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured convened a group of experts and stakeholders in Spring 2016 to discuss the issues. This brief conveys key themes that emerged from the conversation.

This brief examines the oral health status of low-income adults, the dental benefits covered by state Medicaid programs, and low-income adults’ access to dental care today.

In thousands of medically underserved communities across the U.S., community health centers enroll low-income people in health coverage and provide care to millions of patients. Against the backdrop of significant health center expansion over several years and a full year of expanded health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this brief examines change between 2013 and 2014 in the volume and health coverage profile of health center patients, and health center enrollment activities and service capacity, comparing states that implemented the ACA Medicaid expansion in 2014 and states that did not expand Medicaid in 2014. The study is based on data from the federal Uniform Data System and a 2014 national survey of health centers.

The Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored an August 17 briefing to discuss oral health coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). While PPACA ensures dental coverage for children, challenges remain to improve dental health access and coverage for adults. Speakers will…

While the Affordable Care Act is expected to expand public and private coverage for children when it takes effect in 2014, significant gaps will remain, especially for low-income adults age 21 and older. This June 19, 2012, a public forum at the Foundation’s Washington, D.C. offices examined the gaps and…

This brief examines a new requirement under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 that state CHIP programs cover comprehensive dental benefits. The reauthorization law also allows states with separate CHIP programs to offer a dental-only plan for children who have other health insurance but lack adequate dental…

This video profiles patients attending a dental fair in rural Virginia and highlights the impact of lack of coverage for oral health services. Uninsured adults have vast oral care needs, and untreated dental problems can have serious health, employment and social consequences. To download the video, right-click here and select…