Successful / Unsuccessful Medicaid Reforms

Access to dental services for children enrolled in Medicaid has been widely acknowledged to be a serious, chronic problem. Nevertheless, several States have taken steps in recent years which have resulted in substantial improvements in access to care for their Medicaid/EPSDT populations. This presentation will: (a) provide a brief overview of the factors contributing to limited access to dental services for children covered by Medicaid programs; (b) identify a number of key elements that need to be considered in strategies for improving access to Medicaid dental services for children; (c) cite examples of successful State dental Medicaid initiatives; and (d) discuss why some efforts to improve provider participation and expand access to dental services have produced limited results.