MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) — A pilot program that raises the pay for dentists that accept Medicaid patients would be expanded in central Wisconsin if the Joint Finance Committee’s budget is approved. That’s according to State Representative David Heaton of Wausau, who asked the committee to add Marathon County to the program. “Throughout Wisconsin, you know, we have Medical Assistance which provides health and dental coverage to people in need, and Wisconsin’s dental MA reimbursement rate is one of the lowest in the country, and it makes it hard for people who are on Medicaid to find dentists who will treat them. This program will provide enhanced reimbursement rates to dentists who provide services to MA patients.”
Medicaid and Family Care patients in Wisconsin often have to travel long distances or wait months to get an appointment with a dentist because so few dentists accept the very low take-it-or-leave-it rate offered by the state for services. Like many Medicaid providers, dentists can’t afford to give away services below the cost of providing them.
Heaton says the additional Medicaid reimbursement dollars will make it possible for more dentists to either lose less money or break even on Medicaid care, which should get more doctors on board to treat patients locally. “This will hopefully incentivize more providers to get into this market. It will also help alleviate some of the problems at emergency rooms. That’s the hope. Right now, there’s some people that go to the emergency room that don’t have insurance, or don’t have the ability to get dental coverage.”
Heaton says the program may cost the state more money up front, but will save far more in the long run. “This will hopefully incentivize them to have more access to preventive care, which in the long run will save our state money.”
The program expansion is now part of the Joint Finance Committee’s budget, but it still has to be approved by both the Assembly and the State Senate. Then, it has to survive the veto pen of Governor Scott Walker before the program can be expanded to Marathon County.
(Listen to our interview with Representative David Heaton on our website, here.)
