Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Conn. Dentists Say Plan To Cut Medicaid Reimbursements Threatens Access For Patients
Connecticut leads the nation in the percentage of kids covered by Medicaid who go to the dentist – a dramatic change from a decade ago, when the state ranked near the bottom, according to a national report. Other studies have found significant improvements in poor children's oral health over that time. But dentists and advocates say that progress could be set back under a proposal by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to cut by 10 percent the Medicaid payment rates for children’s dental care. (Levin Becker, 4/18)
The Democratic governor included a 10 percent cut in the reimbursement for children's dental services provided under the state's HUSKY health insurance program in the revised, $19.7 billion budget plan he released on Tuesday to help cover a projected $922 million deficit. The Connecticut State Dental Association, which represents 2,200, or 64 percent of the state's dentists, contends any reduction will discourage dentists from serving poor residents. (Haigh, 4/16)
A bill aimed at curbing and containing costs within Alaska's Medicaid program passed the Legislature Sunday. It was one of the major reform bills targeted by legislators this session. Others, aimed at oil and gas tax credits and the criminal justice system, were pending. The sprawling bill includes provisions geared toward ferreting out fraud and waste and bringing down state costs. Among other things, it calls for a primary care case management system to increase use of appropriate primary and preventative care and decrease unnecessary use of specialty care and emergency services. (4/17)
