A new HRSA fact sheet, "Opportunities to Use
Medicaid in Support of Oral Health Services," offers state
and local health officials strategies on using Medicaid funds
to improve access to dental services and improve the oral health
of low-income adults and children. Strategies include:
- ensuring adequacy of coverage and payment;
- improving dentists' participation;
- ensuring that eligible people are enrolled; and
- improving eligibility standards for Medicaid and the State
Children's Health Insurance Program.
Health officials are encouraged to choose the approaches
that most effectively meet their state's unique dental health
needs.
It is recommended that state and local officials conduct
periodic reviews of programs to identify ways -- like those
noted in the fact sheet -- to appropriately use Medicaid as
a source of funding to improve and assure health services
for low-income individuals and families.
Future fact sheets will explain how to use Medicaid funds
to improve services covering school-based health care, children
with special health care needs, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
The fact sheet is available at www.hrsa.gov/medicaidprimer
on the World Wide Web. As new fact sheets become available,
they will be posted to this site. For more information, contact
Alexander Ross, Sc.D., in HRSA’s Center for Health Services
Financing and Managed Care at (301) 443-1550, fax (301) 443-5641
or e-mail aross@hrsa.gov.
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