A patient is treated at a dental clinic. (Photo: sirtravelalot, via Shutterstock)Susan Inglett’s dental coverage changed just after she got a root canal on one of her top teeth. It was 2009, and California was in the midst of a budget crisis. To cut costs, Medi-Cal, the state health insurance program for low-income residents, eliminated non-emergency dental benefits for adults.
A youngster pays a visit to the dentist. (Photo: Wavebreakmedia)California lawmakers are considering a bill that would double reimbursement rates for Denti-Cal providers in order to entice more dentists to accept the insurance that covers low-income residents. The hope is to get dental care to more people – especially children. According to recent reports by the state auditor and the Little Hoover Commission, less than 38 percent of the 5 million eligible children actually received Denti-Cal care in 2014.
A youngster on a visit to the dentist. (Photo: Wavebreakmedia, via Shuttetstock.)Jim Wood tells a story about teeth that makes him smile. Wood — a dentist and a state assemblyman from Sonoma County — remembers the time a patient of his who was an elementary school teacher told him about a student suffering from serious dental problems. The little girl’s family was poor and they lived in a rural area. They couldn’t find a dentist to treat her. The family lived too far for them to travel to Wood’s office in Cloverdale. But Wood was able to find a dentist closer to their home to treat the girl.