Journal article
A tale of two public dental benefit programs: Iowa dentist participation in traditional Medicaid versus a Medicaid expansion program
BMC Oral Health, Vol.19(1), 89
05/24/2019
DOI: 10.1186/s12903-019-0771-z
PMID: 31126338
Abstract
Abstract Background In Iowa from 2014 to 2017, there were 2 separate public dental benefit programs for Medicaid-enrolled adults: one for the Medicaid expansion population called the Dental Wellness Plan (DWP), and one for the traditional, non-expansion adult Medicaid population. The programs differed with respect to reimbursement, administration, and benefit structure. This study explored differences in patterns and predictors of dentist participation in the two programs. Methods Authors sent a survey to all private practice dentists in Iowa (n = 1301) 2 years after DWP implementation. Descriptive, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses were used to examine patterns and predictors of dentist participation in Medicaid and DWP. Results Overall rates of dentists’ acceptance of new Medicaid and DWP patients were 45 and 43%, respectively. However, Medicaid participants were much more likely than DWP participants to place limits on patient acceptance. Adjusting for other factors, practice busyness was the only significant predictor of DWP participation, and practice location was the only significant predictor of Medicaid participation. Dentists who were not busy enough were more than twice as likely to participate in DWP compared to others, and dentists in rural areas were almost twice as likely to participate in Medicaid compared to dentists in urban areas. Conclusions Dentist participation in Medicaid is an ongoing concern for states aiming to ensure access to dental care for low-income populations. We found distinct participation patterns and predictors between a traditional Medicaid dental program and the DWP, suggesting different motivations for participation between the two programs.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- A tale of two public dental benefit programs: Iowa dentist participation in traditional Medicaid versus a Medicaid expansion program
- Creators
- Julie C. Reynolds - University of Iowa, Preventive and Community DentistrySusan C McKernan - University of Iowa, Preventive and Community DentistryPeter C. Damiano - University of Iowa, Preventive and Community DentistryRaymond A. Kuthy - University of Iowa, Center for Social Science Innovation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- BMC Oral Health, Vol.19(1), 89
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12903-019-0771-z
- PMID
- 31126338
- NLM abbreviation
- BMC Oral Health
- ISSN
- 1472-6831
- eISSN
- 1472-6831
- Publisher
- BMC
- Grant note
- name: Iowa Department of Human Services
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/24/2019
- Academic Unit
- Preventive and Community Dentistry; Public Policy Center (Archive); Oral Health Policy Research
- Record Identifier
- 9983756995102771
Metrics
46 Record Views