2004 COHI Legislative Alert

Support sound long-term oral health policy. Contact your elected officials and let them know that oral health care matters. Ask them to talk to their leadership and members of the Appropriations Committee and tell them to:

1. Repeal Medicaid/HUSKY Cost-Sharing, Including Premiums And Co-Payments. Thousands of low-income residents will be forced to drop their oral health coverage because of these burdensome impositions. ALL co-pays and premiums should be eliminated. Support legislation to end premiums and co-payments, including both HE.BE. 5530, An Act Concerning Restoration Of Benefits And Services Under The Medical Assistance Program, and H.B. 457, An Act Concerning Restoration of Social Services Programs.
   
2. Oppose the Administration's Proposed Cuts to Adult Oral Care (of $4.7 million). One of the most controversial proposals in The Governor's new plans would eliminate state-paid preventive dental care for adults on Medicaid. State dental insurance would no longer pay for routine checkups, cleanings, fillings, crowns or root canal treatment. Thousands more of our adults, including thousands of the state's seniors, would up in expensive emergency rooms with horribly damaged mouths.
   
3. Preserve EPSDT (Early And Periodic Screening, Diagnosis And Treatment). This federal standard, designed by pediatric and policy experts, requires provision of health services (including oral) to eligible children regardless of the state's fiscal situation. EPSDT is the basis for the current legal aid federal lawsuit seeking to ensure access to adequate dental care for every HUSKY child.
   
4. Support an amendment to the Medicaid state plan to provide coverage for screening and treatment of periodontal disease for pregnant women under the Medicaid program - in S.B. 553. Recent studies have found that 18% of preterm births are linked to gum disease - more than are linked to alcohol or tobacco use. The same bill also calls for a pilot project raising reimbursement rates for Medicaid dentists.

Learn how to reach your legislators at: http://www.cga.state.ct.us/maps/townlist.asp 

Contact COHI at: rslate@ctoralhealth.org  (860) 246-2644