Report
Evaluation of the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan: 2023 Survey of Iowa Private Practice Dentists
University of Iowa
12/02/2024
DOI: 10.17077/rep.006690
Abstract
<p>This report describes the results of a 2023 survey of private practice general dentists in Iowa regarding their participation, experiences, and attitudes with the Dental Wellness Plan (DWP) and DWP Kids, Iowa’s Medicaid dental programs for adults and children, respectively. The survey was fielded in August through October 2023; 58% (n=619) of eligible dentists responded.</p>
<p>This research is being conducted as part of an evaluation of the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan (IHAWP), Iowa’s Medicaid expansion program. The DWP evaluation is relevant to the IHAWP evaluation as the IHAWP program includes a healthy behavior incentive (HBI) component where most IHAWP members are required to receive an annual exam (medical or dental) and a health risk assessment (HRA) or pay a premium to stay enrolled.</p>
<p>Key Findings:</p>
<ul>
<li>The proportion of general dentists who reported accepting new adult patients with DWP was 21%, a decline from 29% in 2019. The proportion accepting new children with DWP Kids was 33%, a decline from 49% who accepted new children with Medicaid in 2019.</li>
<li>There was a substantial difference in DWP participation across the two dental carriers. For acceptance of new adult patients with DWP, 6% of dentists accepted both carriers, 15% accepted only one carrier or the other, and 79% did not accept either. For children, 10% accepted both carriers, 23% accepted one or the other, and 67% did not accept either.</li>
<li>The proportion of dentists who had existing patients with DWP in their practice also varied significantly by carrier (Adults: 62% for Carrier 1 and 25% for Carrier 2; Children: 61% for Carrier 1 and 22% for Carrier 2).
<li>Regarding dentist awareness of the potential change in DWP carriers, a majority (67%) of dentists were not aware of the potential change. In open-ended comments about the potential carrier change, the most common themes were low reimbursement, administrative burden, and varying perceptions and experiences with the two existing carriers.</li>
<li>Regarding dentist awareness of the Healthy Dental Behavior program and discontinuation, 70% of dentists were aware of the program, but among those that were aware of it, only 35% were aware that it had been permanently discontinued.</li>
<li>Nearly all participating DWP general dentists reported difficulty referring their DWP patients to specialists – especially oral surgeons (90%) and endodontists (93%).</li>
<li>A vast majority (78%) of dentists had negative attitudes toward the adult DWP program, but for DWP Kids attitudes were nearly divided evenly between positive and negative.</li>
<li>Overall, dentist acceptance of new patients with DWP has continued to decline, and the decline has been more substantial for children since 2021. Dentist awareness of actual and potential plan changes were generally low, and attitudes to the DWP plan overall remained relatively unchanged since 2021.</li></ul>
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Evaluation of the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan: 2023 Survey of Iowa Private Practice Dentists
- Creators
- Julie C Reynolds (Author) - University of Iowa, Preventive and Community DentistryKalpana Karthikeyan (Author)Jennifer M C Sukalski (Author) - University of Iowa, Preventive and Community DentistryBrooke McInroy (Author) - University of Iowa, Iowa Institute of Public Health Research and PolicyPeter C Damiano (Author) - University of Iowa, Preventive and Community Dentistry
- Resource Type
- Report
- DOI
- 10.17077/rep.006690
- Publisher
- University of Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa, United States
- Number of pages
- 52 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2024 the authors
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 12/02/2024
- Academic Unit
- Preventive and Community Dentistry; Oral Health Policy Research
- Record Identifier
- 9984751159502771
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