In July of 2010, MassHealth cut the dental benefits of adults 21 years and older. If a member has a case of tooth decay causing some serious pain they only have a few covered options: go to the emergency room for the pain, visit a dentist to diagnose the problem to ultimately pull the tooth, or both.
For many, losing a tooth during your childhood meant the tooth fairy would be visiting your home to return a prize for your bravery for losing one of your 32 baby pearls. Just as everything, times change, and so has adult dental heath coverage in Massachusetts. It seems that now the tooth fairy, or MassHealth rather, are hovering over dental offices and hospitals waiting to cash in on tooth extractions.
Let’s take a look at why cutting MassHealth dental health benefits is ultimately not a good idea for the state.
The American Journal of Public Health published a study analyzing Massachusetts’ major safety-net hospital, Boston Medical Center, Emergency Department care for dental health problems three years before and two years after Massachusetts Health Care Reform (July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2012). Let’s let the numbers do the talking:
- In 2011, adult dental related spending in the ED increased by 44% from $8.4 to 12.1 million
- In 2011, adult dental related visits in the ED increased by 18% from 5546 to 6317 visits
Have you ever experienced a long wait in an emergency room? Did it ever push you to the brink of frustration that you wanted to pull your hair out, or how about your teeth? Perhaps, that is what adults are resorting to after being frustrated to no end with their MassHealth benefits being cut.
All while the tooth fairy keeps laughing to the bank.
Follow me as I blog for Massachusetts Health Care for All: Oral Health Advocacy Taskforce!
CH