Tuesday, August 01, 2006
The number of poor kids getting dental care plunged 40 percent in the first year of a Medicaid pilot project in Miami-Dade, according to a revise released this month by the University of Florida.
The plan was intended to perk up about 200,000 children's access to dental care, cut fraud and contain costs by moving them from standard fee-for-service to a health maintenance organization. The HMO is run by a Coral Gables firm, Atlantic Dental, and dentists are paid about $4.25 a month per child for all essential treatment.
But in its first year, only 22 percent of entitled Medicaid kids made a trip to the dentist, the report said, compared to 37 percent under the old fee-for-service plan. The report also found fewer dentists took part in the new plan; their disappointment was high and the services they provided appeared to be merit less than what the state paid them.
The plan was intended to perk up about 200,000 children's access to dental care, cut fraud and contain costs by moving them from standard fee-for-service to a health maintenance organization. The HMO is run by a Coral Gables firm, Atlantic Dental, and dentists are paid about $4.25 a month per child for all essential treatment.
But in its first year, only 22 percent of entitled Medicaid kids made a trip to the dentist, the report said, compared to 37 percent under the old fee-for-service plan. The report also found fewer dentists took part in the new plan; their disappointment was high and the services they provided appeared to be merit less than what the state paid them.
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