An Alabama dentist’s struggle with Medicaid reimbursements highlights an ongoing challenge among clinicians in the industry, Stateline reported Oct. 23.
Six notes:
1. Carson Cruise, DMD, is the owner of Pediatric Dentistry of Florence, and the only board-certified pediatric dentist in the area who still accepts Medicaid.
2. Half of the practice’s patients are Medicaid recipients, but the practice has a waitlist of about four to five months.
3. Alabama also struggles with a statewide shortage of dentists, having fewer dentists per capita than any other state except Arkansas, according to data from the American Dental Association.
4. Although the state has raised reimbursement rates three times since 2021, including a 19% increase this year, those rates only cover 46% of what dentists charge for their services.
5. Dr. Cruise told Stateline that not accepting Medicaid would allow him to earn more per patient while cutting his patient volume and overhead costs, stating, “I also have two kids of my own to take care of, and I can’t subsidize this care for the state of Alabama.”
6. It is unclear how the new federal budget, which cuts more than $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade, will affect state Medicaid programs, but Dr. Cruise said any further cuts would likely force him to stop participating in the program.
