Posted on 09/24/2003 5:44:46 AM PDT by FourPeas
Budget crunch ends preventive services for 600,000 adults Tuesday, September 23, 2003 BY BARBARA WALTERS
When Penny Worden's tooth got infected two years ago, it cost taxpayers $5,500 in Medicaid to pay for emergency and follow-up care. Today it costs taxpayers about $75 for Worden, a diabetic who can die from severe infections, to get minor dental care and hygiene to prevent such costly emergency care. After Oct. 1, that benefit will end when Michigan ends Medicaid coverage for preventive dental care for 600,000 poor adults. Worden and about 2,500 other adults in Kalamazoo County who regularly visit the county Dental Clinic and the Family Health Center will no longer be able to receive routine cleanings and other preventive care. "This just means more poor people are going to be walking around with a toothache and then coming to the emergency room in pain," said Worden, 35. Budget officials, however, say that eliminating the Medicaid dental coverage for adults will save taxpayers about $20 million a year. The new budget also ends Medicaid chiropractic and podiatry coverage, a $7 million annual cost. A limited group of adults on Medicaid will still be able to get teeth pulled, if it is an emergency, said Dale Hein, deputy director for the Kalamazoo County Human Services Department. That select group includes disabled individuals, pregnant women and parents with children, he said. But there are many people who do not fall into that category. "There's no incentive now to come in and have preventive work done" that Medicaid coverage provided, Hein said. A severe state budget crunch, however, put an end to such coverage. "We had to make decisions between the very important and the vital," said Geralyn Lasher, spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Health. "While no one would dispute that dental coverage is extremely important, given the realities of the budget situation ... there's simply not the funding to cover these services," she said. Lasher said the cuts were part of a tough budget-balancing act that sought to retain medical coverage and provide prescription-drug service for poor people. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Republican-controlled Legislature had to close a $1.7 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year's $37.9 billion budget. In recent days, the Kalamazoo County Dental Clinic off Gull Road has been busy every working hour, chair after chair filled as people scramble to get work done while it is still covered by Medicaid. "It's really a tragedy," said Keith W. Kemp, 41, who has a disease of the spine that makes him walk stiffly and has left him unable to turn his neck. He gets $669 a month in Medicaid and Medicare benefits and pays $200 in rent. He doesn't know how he will pay for the routine dental care he says he needs so he can someday work. At the county dental clinic, he will be able to pay on a sliding scale for preventive care after Oct. 1. But even the modest $50 it will cost him will be something he may hesitate to pay. Hein said 70 percent to 75 percent of the patients currently served by the county dental clinic are Medicaid-eligible adults. With the ensuing cuts in Medicaid, however, the county dental clinic is now shifting its focus to children ages 19 and under, who are unaffected by the cuts. The clinic will also work with Kalamazoo Public Schools to promote the benefits of good oral hygiene to children there, he said. "We're in a period here of down time with Medicaid," Hein said. "It should come back, but our clinic needs to be here when that happens, so we're going to see more children. We want to make sure we stay viable as a clinic." At the Family Health Center on Portage Street, which also has a dental clinic, the Medicaid cuts also are having a ripple effect. The center's chief executive officer, Anthony King, said the changes will cut the amount of access the center has to adults in need of dental care. "A substantial portion of our patient population will be negatively impacted," King said. The majority of patients seen at the Family Health Center are adults covered by Medicaid, he said. King said the facility is now trying to find other resources for adults whose dental care will become nonexistent next month. "I see nothing positive from this at all," King said. "It just means another group of people won't get the care they need." Barbara Walters can be reached at 388-8563 or bwalters@ kalamazoogazette,com. Rex Hall Jr. can be reached at 388-7784 or rhall@kalamazoogazette.com. The Gazette News Service contributed to this report.
KALAMAZOO GAZETTE
Oh, please. Since when is routine dental care necessary for someone to hold a job? Brush your teeth in the morning, using baking soda if necessary.
Thanks!
At the county dental clinic, he will be able to pay on a sliding scale for preventive care after Oct. 1. But even the modest $50 it will cost him will be something he may hesitate to pay.
In other words, he'll take care of himself only if it doesn't cost him anything, his health is not worth spending his own money on.
Portage just put out a report indicating that housong sales were up as well as retail activity, so no huge impact yet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.