State gets an ‘A’ in national report
Posted: 26 February 2010
MERIDEN — About 150 children were served at a free dental clinic held earlier this month by the Community Health Center of Meriden, and at its counterpart locations in New Britain and Norwalk. The number of children ages 2 to 11 served has increased in each of the five years of the annual event, called Give Kids a Smile Day. The program focuses on the uninsured and underinsured.
However, “as good as Give Kids a Smile is, it’s not a system — it’s not every day,” said Patricia Baker. “It speaks to the high need for oral health.”
Baker is president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation, which over the last decade has worked to improve oral health in the state, investing more than $10 million during that time to improve dental care for children covered by the state’s Medicaid system. About one in every four children in the state is eligible under the HUSKY program for low-income families, she said.
Those efforts received significant validation earlier this week, when Connecticut was one of just six states to receive top marks in providing childhood dental services under Medicaid in a study by the Pew Center on the States. The Pew report called Connecticut a national leader in the effort. The report found that one in five American children, ages one to 18, go without annual dental care.
The Nutmeg State received an “A” grade in the national report, satisfying standards in six of eight categories. A decade ago, “we would have probably gotten a ‘D,’ ” said Baker, who called the situation at the time “a perfect storm” of low reimbursement rates, lack of participating dentists and lack of attention.
Investments and greater cooperation helped turn that around, along with a class-action suit settled in 2008 with the state Department of Social Services, which oversees Medicaid.
Since the lawsuit was settled, the number of participating dental providers increased from about 150 serving 44,000 children to about 1,000 serving 73,000 children, said Carol Dingeldey, executive director of the Southington-based Connecticut State Dental Association.
“The fact that we received a grade of “A” is a great testament to the work that’s taken place in the last few years to get dentists to participate in the dental aid program,” said Dingeldey. “Three years ago we would have been in a far different place.”
The Pew report also “tells us that we have to work hard to stay where we’re at,” said Dingeldey, and should also serve as an impetus for further improvement, including expanding coverage for adults.
“This is not the time to rest on our laurels,” said Baker.
Connecticut did not meet two of the Pew report standards. The state does not meet the national average of 25 percent in the number of high-risk schools providing sealant programs and fell short in authorizing new primary care dental providers.
But the state met standards for the percentage of residents on fluoridated community water supplies, the percentage of children under Medicaid receiving care, Medicaid payments to dentists, tracking children’s dental health, allowing hygienists to place sealants without a dentist’s exam and for paying providers for preventative dental care.
“Preventative services are really important, especially with kids,” said Dingeldey. “If you teach good habits, those are habits that carry throughout their lifetime.”
The other states making the “A” grade were Rhode Island, Iowa, South Carolina, Maryland and New Mexico.
Submitted by Jeff Kurz on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 19:46
Comments :
Post new comment