Low reimbursements under Maine’s Medicaid program are causing children to wait months for dental care, NBC affiliate News Center Maine reported Sept. 4.
Six notes:
1. Michael Dowling, DMD, told News Center Maine that many children, including those needing general anesthesia for their dental treatment, are facing wait times of at least eight months.
2. The Maine Dental Association has also estimated that there are thousands of children in the state currently waiting for dental treatment.
3. Dr. Dowling said his office loses hundreds of dollars for each procedure that includes general anesthesia because the MaineCare program doesn’t fully reimburse for the cost of anesthesia.
4. The low reimbursement rates have forced dentists to limit the number of MaineCare patients they treat.
5. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told News Center Maine that reimbursement rates in the state would only rise by 1% this year for cost-of-living adjustments.
6. Any substantial changes to the state’s reimbursement rates would need to wait for the state’s formal reform process, which has been moved up to 2026.
