Congress: Protect Access to Dental Health Care

As the Senate debates health care bill proposals to transform our care delivery and financing systems, we must ensure they protect access to dental coverage for all Americans.

Over the past few years, more and more Americans have been able to access affordable dental coverage. In fact, since 2000, the percentage of children without dental coverage has been cut in half.

Medicaid has played a critical role in this progress. Dental services are considered an essential part of the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) program, which ensures that children receive regular dental care. Adults have also benefited in recent years, with 5.4 million adults gaining coverage through Medicaid expansion.

Other public programs have also helped. Because pediatric dental benefits are considered an essential health benefit on the exchanges, more kids have coverage. Further, many adults have selected dental coverage through the marketplaces.

As more of us gain access to coverage, we see the rate of untreated decay declining among low-income children, and research shows that costly emergency department visits for dental-related issues have declined. These improvements are in large part attributable to the fact that more people have access to dental coverage.

Over the past several months – continuing this week and for likely the near future – Congress has explored various avenues for health care reform. The value of oral health care and dental coverage cannot be overlooked in these conversations.

Let’s not overlook that tooth decay remains the most chronic condition among children, which can affect school performance and attendance.

Additionally, optimal oral health is not simply a goal in itself, but is vital to creating healthier communities. Research has shown that tooth decay can result in an elevated risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. What’s more, recent studies demonstrate that treatment of gum disease can lead to better overall health management—as evidenced by lower health care costs and fewer hospitalizations—among people with common health conditions like those mentioned above or even pregnancy.

Any health care reforms must ensure dental remains a priority.

By improving access to dental coverage for low-income families in the past few years, we as a nation have made tremendous strides to

• ensure children are well-positioned for a lifetime of optimal health;  

• decrease poor quality, high-cost emergency department visits for dental-associated issues; and

• improve the oral and overall health of vulnerable populations.

We hope Congress pursues solutions that protect these improvements.

Let’s improve oral health with provider-focused, patient-centric Medicaid dental partnerships

States and managed care organizations face real challenges when it comes to running a successful Medicaid program and helping people get and stay healthy. Medicaid leaders find themselves faced with extremely difficult decisions about how best to prioritize critical needs of the population – often times there are no silver bullets. Yet, Medicaid dental partnerships are a great step forward.

In the past, the dental component of a Medicaid program has fallen victim to tough decisions, receiving fewer resources and lagging behind when it came to ensuring access to needed care. And people suffered.  

Recognizing this, states started to look at their Medicaid dental programs differently. They began seeking out industry experts like DentaQuest to help work directly with Medicaid agencies or to support managed care organizations to implement best practices. 

The result was that more people got access to the medically necessary oral health they needed.

   

Rapidly expanding regulatory requirements and Medicaid budget pressures, as well as the tidal wave of value-based payment and care models initiated by the Affordable Care Act, mean states once again find themselves at a crossroads when it comes to their Medicaid dental programs.  

Forward thinking states are moving past the notion that access to treatment is all it takes to improve the oral health of all. They recognize that an effective Medicaid dental program must achieve the Triple Aim: lower costs, improved population health, and better patient experiences.  

Tennessee is a perfect example of a dental partnership focused on the triple aim. 

In 2012, state Medicaid leaders recognized they were no longer meeting the oral needs of the people they served and set out to create a new Medicaid dental program model. They also recognized that they needed a new partner, not just a vendor, to help develop and implement a holistic approach to oral health.   

Today, DentaQuest partners with the state to administer the TennCare Medicaid dental program and through this partnership, more children have access to preventive care at a lower cost to taxpayers.  

Since partnering with TennCare in 2013, DentaQuest has saved the state $27.5 million by prioritizing preventive care, which helps to avoid extensive, costly future procedures. In the second year of the program, the number of children participating in the program increased by 8 percent to 810,000 enrollees. Through our dental home program, we’ve made sure that each and every one of the 810,000 children is connected to a dentist who is willing and able to provide care.  

TennCare has been able to handle the influx of patients thanks to a provider participation increase of 31 percent. DentaQuest has focused on easing the administrative burdens placed on providers and facilitating transparent communications.  

This successful model is built upon the idea that aligned incentives can improve outcomes.  

DentaQuest has a shared responsibility when it comes to improving outcomes and reducing costs. This challenge should not fall on providers and states alone. DentaQuest must meet outcome benchmarks—set by the state—related to access, network adequacy, outreach, and cost.  

DentaQuest met or exceeded benchmarks in all categories during the first two years and is poised to demonstrate success again in year three.   

The results of this model are encouraging: 

• Average distance to a provider is 3.7 miles, compared to a benchmark of 30 miles 
• Wait times for routine, urgent, and emergency care are significantly lower than the state’s thresholds 
• 100 percent of beneficiaries have patient-centered dental homes—providing accessible, comprehensive, and coordinated care to enrollees 

 

DentaQuest has been able to succeed in part by educating and engaging patients and families—even hosting over 80 community events last year.  

This type of patient-centric program should serve as a model for other state Medicaid programs and partners. Change and innovation should not mean complexity and burden. 

There is a better way forward and DentaQuest has a roadmap to get there.