“There have been proposals over the years that would do this, but in the past they haven’t gone anywhere,” David Lipschutz, associate director at Center for Medicare Advocacy told CNBC. “It looks like this time something could get passed in at least one chamber of Congress.”
The bills would add preventive and screening dental services, including oral exams and cleanings, under Medicare Part B. Additionally, Medicare would cover procedures such as tooth restoration and extractions, bridges, crowns, root canal treatments and implants and dentures.
Beneficiaries would pay 20 percent of the treatment price for basic care and 50 percent for major treatments.
It’s unclear how much the expansion of these services would cost taxpayers if passed. However, the Congressional Budget Office offered a preliminary estimate of $345 billion in government savings from 2023 through 2029 if Congress would pass an associated bill that would allow Medicare officials to negotiate prices with drugmakers.
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