The unguarded gate is your mouth, and the issue is the state Senate budget proposal to eliminate adult dental benefits in the MassHealth and CommCare programs. We reprinted testimony on a near-death experience caused by the lack of dental care here a few days ago. Here’s what we reported from a 2005 hearing:
LN from Worcester: I have always had gum disease. I worked all my life and have had good jobs and good insurance. I was a productive member of society. Once I became disabled and went on MassHealth, though, it’s like the world said “go over in that corner; we don’t need you any more.” Just because I can no longer afford these services doesn’t mean I don’t need them. If I had them I could be a productive member of society again. … My gum disease is so bad I only have four teeth left. When you don’t have teeth, you don’t eat well. You don’t digest, you choke easily. I’m tired of eating baby food. When your oral health suffers, you lose teeth. People perceive you as poor. Your self esteem goes down. You don’t smile. Kids walk us to me and say ‘ma’am’ because I look like a great grandmother. You can’t keep or get jobs.
Dr. Mike Monopoli: In 2002, at the height of the fiscal crisis, the administration eliminated dental benefits for 560,000 adults in MassHealth as a cost-savings measure. Cost-savings is not cost-effective. Lack of access to dental care increases MassHealth costs in the long run. Lack of preventive dental care leads to increased risk for periodontal (gum) disease. Periodontal disease is associated with increased risk of premature and low birth weight babies in mothers. Complications associated with low birth weight result in high cost to care for infants in their first months of life and increased medical costs for years thereafter. Untreated periodontal disease increases medical costs for adults with cardiac disease and diabetes. Untreated cavities leads to infections and the need for root canal treatment, extractions and dentures. MassHealth adults without access to dental care burden hospital emergency departments when they are in pain and have nowhere to go. Dental care in a hospital ER is the most costly and least effective way to provide dental care.
Senator Chandler has agreed to once again be an oral health hero, and will file an amendment to eliminate the provision. We deeply appreciate Senator Chandler’s ongoing commitment to public health and the critical role dental care plays in keeping us healthy and productive.
HCFA’s Oral Health Advocacy Task Force has set up a web page with instructions and talking points on how to contact your Senator in support of the amendment. We urge everyone to click here and act to reverse this proposed cut.
In 2005, Dr. Monopoli and I wrote a report about the impact of eliminating dental benefits for adults in MassHealth starting in 2002. We found that enrollees were often faced with the choice of enduring great pain or losing their teeth (because extractions were one of the few covered services), the number of dentists accepting MassHealth (always a problem) declined, and dental clinics at Community Health Centers were overwhelmed. The cut saved less than one percent of the state’s share of total MassHealth spending. I am sure that nothing has changed to alter such effects if dental benefits are cut now. To read the report, go to http://www.kff.org/medicaid/7378.cfm.
You have to have the confidence that your teeth are orally fit in order stay healthy. For those who have work to do must all the more take care of their teeth. You have to brush regularly to avoid teeth problem.