What’s Rotten About Dental Care
Editorial
March 18, 2007
Connecticut prefers to think of itself as
progressive, even enlightened. But when it
comes to something as basic as
dental care
for the poor — especially children —
Connecticut is in the Dark Ages. Ask Susan
Thorton, a legal assistant from Winsted and
the mother of three teenagers. For years her
family has received dental coverage through
Medicaid, also known as Husky A. The public
health clinic that once took Ms. Thorton’s
children does not take children over 12. She
has called a dozen dentists, to no avail.
The reason is obvious. This state is far
behind states like Alabama, Tennessee and
South Carolina in the amount of money it will
reimburse dentists who care for poor
children. For lack of decent care, thousands
of children here suffer because so few
dentists are willing to take the state’s
miserly reimbursement rates. Too many poor
children miss school because of toothaches;
others will develop abscessed teeth because
of dental neglect.
Seven years ago, legal aid lawyers filed a
lawsuit against the state, claiming it did
not provide adequate dental care to
low-income children, but the case has
languished. Solving this problem is
fundamental; the General Assembly should act
before the legislature tackles other items on
its ambitious agenda, particularly broader
health care reform.
The facts are simple. Since 1993, Connecticut
has not raised Husky A dental rates. (Adults
face an even worse situation; the state
hasn't increased adult dental rates since
1989.) As a result, the few dentists in the
state who take low-income patients almost
invariably lose money — and yet they are
often overwhelmed by low-income people who
are trying to see them. Only about 100 of the
state’s 3,000 dentists see the majority of
the poor.
Two of these dentists, Jeanne Strathearn and
her partner, Stanley Fellman, have treated
Medicaid patients for years. It is common,
Dr. Strathearn said, for patients to drive 60
miles, from as far away as Bridgeport, for an
appointment at her office in Hartford.
“Eighty percent of tooth decay is in 25
percent of the population,” Dr. Strathearn
said. Care is so difficult for the poor to
obtain here that only one-third of the
state’s 250,000 children enrolled in Husky A
get dental exams, the lowest rate in New
England. That is also why, in 2004, 77,000
low-income children saw dentists on an
emergency basis
The legislature is considering a good bill,
House Bill 7069, that would raise rates
sufficiently so that an additional 300
dentists statewide would be willing to treat
low-income children. The cost would be $21
million the first year. The federal
government would pay half.
The same bill passed the necessary committees
last year. But during budget negotiations
between the legislature and the executive
branch, the governor’s office offered to
settle the lawsuit to resolve the issue. The
governor’s office has since balked because of
the cost, saying it would cost more to treat
children than the bill allocates. Maybe so.
Yet the reason it is expensive is that rates
have stagnated for 14 years. The legislature
should take no more chances. Passing the bill
is a matter of compassion and common sense.
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About Connecticut Oral Health Initiative
The Connecticut Oral Health Initiative, or COHI for
short, is a state-wide collaborative of dental
professionals, business and community leaders. Our
Mission is Oral Health Care for All. We work to
persuade, educate and inform decision makers and the
general public about the important issues involving
oral health. We started in 1992 as a project of the
Connecticut State Dental Association and
incorporated as a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit
corporation in 2003. We are supported by your
tax-deductible contribution and grants from
progressive foundations and businesses.
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Connecticut Oral Health Initiative
Marty Milkovic
Executive Director
phone:
860-246-COHI (2644)
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