Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, July 14, 2007
Assembly action won’t help poor people get dental care
Area legislators were quick to put the nicest possible face on the state Assembly’s rejection of a pilot program that sought to get more dentists to take Medical Assistance cases.
But we don’t share their rosy view. When the Assembly rejected a $7 million pilot program in La Crosse and two other counties and opted instead to use the $7 million for the MA dental program statewide, it virtually ensured that few if any people will be helped.
Why? Because dentists now receive only 40 percent reimbursement for MA cases. At that amount, dentists not only don’t break even, but they lose money.
Unlike physicians, who have more opportunities to work in large clinics or hospitals where somebody else provides the roof over their head and the basic administrative services, most dentists work alone or in small groups in which they must pay the rent and meet the payroll.
As a result, it is more difficult to get dentists to treat low-income people if it means that they lose money on the deal.
The proposed pilot project, which was pushed by a local coalition that included Reps. Jennifer Shilling and Lee Nerison, Sen. Dan Kapanke and dentist Dr. John Mueller, would have increased reimbursement from 40 percent to 70 percent for the next two years in La Crosse, Brown and Racine counties.
Republicans who control the Assembly threw out the pilot program but kept the money in the dental program statewide.
Kapanke said he was “thrilled” that the Assembly at least included dental access in its budget. And Shilling said this shows that legislative leaders recognize the dental access problem. Unfortunately, $7 million for the entire state for the next two years won’t make much of a difference. It’s doubtful that dentists will participate in significant enough numbers.
It’s possible that some state officials don’t believe that increasing reimbursements will make a difference. That’s why the pilot program made good sense. It would show, once and for all, whether we could serve more poor people by paying dentists closer to what the work costs.
The budget will soon go to a conference committee made up of representatives of both the Assembly and Senate. That committee should consider this issue and give the pilot program a chance.
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