The American Dental Association is supporting legislation that would expand Medicaid dental coverage for adults in every state.
Five things to know:
1. The Medicaid Dental Benefits Act of 2023 would mandate comprehensive dental coverage under Medicaid for adults in every state and would increase the federal medical assistance percentage for these services.
2. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., introduced the legislation Feb. 28.
3. In a March 17 letter, ADA President George Shepley, DDS, and Executive Director Raymond Cohlmia, DDS, commended the bill as a way to increase access to care, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed inadequacies in oral healthcare access.
4. The ADA pointed out in the letter that adult enrollment under Medicaid increased by more than 28 percent between February 2020 and October 2022.
5. Less than half of U.S. states provide extensive dental coverage for adults under Medicaid, while others offer limited benefits, emergency-only coverage or no coverage at all for adults, the ADA said.