Cuts Extract Mass Health Dental Benefits From Budget
As part of Governor Deval Patrick’s broad, expansive plan to cut more than $800 million from next years state budget, Mass Health dental benefits for adults is no longer being provided.
The cuts to the Mass Dental program will eliminate fillings, treatment for gum disease, and dentures. This last measure is particularly troublesome for low-income seniors who rely on dentures as an integral component of their daily nutrition. Fillings, one of the other primary aspects of the Mass Dental program being eliminated, are crucial in preventing the spread of dental decay and disease.
With these cuts taking affect, the only remaining coverage for members of the Mass Health adult dental program is for check-ups, cleanings, and extractions. Christine Keeves is director of the Massachusetts Oral Advocacy Taskforce, a branch of the organization Health Care For All: Massachusetts. The Oral Advocacy Task Force led an effort to halt the budget cuts to the MassHealth Dental programs. In an article posted to the Health Care for All website on May 14th, 2010, Keeves asserts: “Of all MassHealth benefits, dental is the most universal- it provides vital health coverage to nearly 700,000 people in Massachusetts.” In total, according to this same site, the cuts to Mass Dental will cut benefits for “around 700,000 people, including more than 120,000 seniors and more than 180,000 disabled individuals with HIV/AIDS.”
Dentist Barry W. Aston of Hudson, Massachusetts has argued the Mass Dental program played a crucial role preventing costly trips to the hospital due to dental emergencies, and has even written articles about the issue in the Metrowest Daily News and other local publications.
“I will be losing around $60,000 with the cuts to MassDental, so I have a personal interest vested in this,” Aston said. “But that truly isn’t my main beef. What I care most about are the thousands of special needs patients who are going to be losing very important care as a result of these cuts. It’s not fair.”
However, dentists aren’t the only ones speaking out against the Governor’s proposed cuts. Several prominent Massachusetts legislators have lobbied against the cuts in the weeks leading up to their enactment. One of the first politicians to make a concentrated effort to prevent these cuts from being put in place was State Representative John Sciback, who filed an amendment in March to keep the current Mass Dental program in place.
“The bottom line is if people don’t get consistent dental services, the state loses more money,” said Sciback, emphasizing the that these cuts will not only negatively impact all those treated under Mass Health, but also the State itself.
Research and statistics done by the Oral Health Advocacy Task Force Of Massachusetts support Sciback’s assertion that these cuts are in fact retroactive in doing what they are designed to do: save money. According to a recent press release from the Task Force, “the long term cost of eliminating adult dental care is 2.5 times more expensive than the cost of providing care.”
Around 700,000 Massachusetts citizens will be impacted by these cuts to Mass Dental. According to Representative Sciback, within this large group, there are demographics and groupings of people for whom the cuts will be particularly problematic.
“These cuts will affect everybody on Mass Health. But within this there are going to be groups disproportionately affected; such as people with disabilities and low-income citizens,” said Sciback.
Like Sciback, State Senator Harriette Chandler recently filed an amendment seeking to preserve and protect the program as it is. The amendment gained significant support amongst various legislators and figures within Boston’s political and social communities.
Deborah Banda, Director of the Massachusetts branch of the AARP, is among those who have voiced their support for this amendment. According to a statement released on May 26th, 2010 by the Massachusetts branch of the AARP Banda stated that she felt this amendment was the only chance to prevent the cuts from being enacted at the beginning of July.
“Let me be frank: Proper dental care, including dentures, is not a luxury, for older persons, in particular, they are key to getting proper nutrition and staying healthy,” Banda said in the statement released by the Massachusetts branch of the AARP. “If the Chandler amendment does not pass, more than 700,000 adults, including 130,000 seniors in Massachusetts will lose access to regular dental services.”
Before the cuts to the Mass Dental program took affect the Massachusetts Senate debated on a wide range of issues, including Senator Chandler’s amendment to preserve the MassHealth adult dental program as it is. Unfortunately for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts’s citizens, the amendment was unable to garner enough support within the Senate and was eliminated.
While low-income seniors will be the group most significantly impacted by these cuts; they will also have a profound impact upon the thousands of homeless in the state, many of which benefited greatly from the MassHealth dental program that is being eliminated. As mentioned earlier, the program will no longer cover fillings and procedures such as root canals and bridges. However the program will still cover extractions. For the homeless, this means a return to the old adage: “If it hurts, pull it.” Now teeth that could be saved through root canals or other procedures will simply be yanked.
Furthermore, without fillings, low-income citizens and the homeless will be at a drastically heightened risk of dental decay and further disease, as fillings are the main technique for stopping and preventing the spread of decay and disease. These cuts to the Mass dental cut will exacerbate the health problems the homeless face within their day-to-day lives.
Representative Sciback discussed how these cuts represent yet another obstacle standing in the way of homeless citizen’s ascensions from poverty.
“It is definitely going to affect the problem [homelessness]. It’s going to make it much more difficult for the homeless to escape the cycle they are caught in. if they are trying to find work, or trying to find job training, it’s going to be much more difficult if the mouth looks awful,” said Sciback. “The homeless are really caught between a rock and a hard place with this. Life for them was difficult before these cuts. Losing these services is devastating.”
Comments
Things like this are always
Things like this are always sad to hear. I understand the need to cut certain things from the budget, it's just too bad that it is dental coverage. I know that my mother will be greatly affected by this, so we are going to start looking into short term health insurance for her. Hopefully this will allow her to get the necessary coverage that she needs until we can figure out a long term plan.
its so sad
i am 23 i had to get 5 pulled out my mouth because decay and mass health is not covering for adults. i'm a mother three small kids alone i cant get a real good job because of my mouth and it hurts to know others are going through the same thing and my mouth gets worst as the day passes. i hope and pray god they start covering again before it gets worst for everyone..................................................................................
Homeless? No.
This is not a problem limited to the homeless and elderly. My husband, a professional in IT for 26 years and now entering his 50's, with a triple bachelors degree from NYIT and a professional resume par excellence, is in the same position. His enamel was destroyed in late puberty by over-prescription of Tetracyclin. Two years ago his State position evaporated, and with it went all our insurance. His teeth could be maintained previously (with insurance and at great cost), but now without it, they are literally breaking off and crumbling, and abcesses are beginning that send us to the ER - at taxpayers expense.
At this point, just two years later, there is no professional job he can apply for; they would think he was a crack addict, his teeth have deteriorated so badly.
After having paid enormous amounts of taxes throughout his (childless) life - he can not now get any help for his teeth so he can resume his career.
America...oh, yes, richest country in the world. Disgusting. For the uninsured and jobless, we might as well be a Third-world country.
I will be doing everything in my power to NEVER pay another cent in taxes to this country ever again.
cuts on dental care
Dental care is important. When you neglect your teeth your total health is threatened and it contributes to heart disease as infection spreads throughout the body and increases inflammation. Cutting dental care for low income and disabled people is absolutely stupid. In the long run you will have people in the hospital for serious health problems partially or wholly caused by lack of dental care. Let's see, heart operations, open heart surgery, strokes, clogged arteries, all contributed to by lack of proper dental care. Who ever separated health care from dental care anyways; it's all the same thing. If you don't take care of your teeth your whole body suffers the consequences.
Cut backs in adult dental services
Like myself and hundred's of others in the state of Massachuseett who rely on the Masshealth Dental program, the cut backs to the dental services are devastating. I'm disabled and are on a fixed income from Social Security and a non service disability from the VA (under $1000.00 per/mo). I've already incured a debt to my dentist in the sum of $2200.00 for needed work caused by Chemo and radiation therapy ten years ago. The fact that extractions are not and option, due to my jaw's inability to heal properly. Although originally I was brought into the program under special circumstances, it seems they don't apply, yet my needs haven't changed. In retrospect I seem to remember cuts in dental services happening once before, possibly prior to and election.
teeth
I am very upset with Deval Patricks proposal on this. I will not vote him in again or anybody who stands by his side. I am a young 34 yr old who was involved in a car accident and had my teeth done. things were ok for awhile with the up keep. i had alot of problems and now they are starting to fall out. I need to have work done and on low income. i work but cannot work alot due to kids and pregnancy.Now you do not have much dental benefits.I will not be able to have work done.These problems were not caused by me. I need help and you can not help me so should I walk around with no teeth in my mouth and not be able to eat for the nutrition of my baby. You sit in an office while I work very hard at my work and work hard taking care of my children. you cut everything important for fixed income people such as elderly and many middle aged people. We need a new person who cares about the people in office.
The Rich Aim For The Poor
I'd like to see a role call on the Senate vote for this cut in essential services for 700,000 citizens. Just who would be so low as to remove fillings from someone's mouth and leave other governmental overcosts and corruption intact?
Where were these legislators when the Big Dig cost went to fourteen billion, far-eclipsing the three billion dollar extimate for the project?
Are these legislators proud of the job they are doing? They disgust me.
Extractions and Masshealth
I went to a gathering yesterday (8/11/2010) and a group of about 50 people faced Masshealth. Out of all those people only Dr. Brent Martin was in favor of the changes to Masshealth. Two other doctors opposed the changes and just like him and I they stated why they were in opposition to the changes to the Mass Dental Program. I think still about my speech in which I pointed out that "If you don't have teeth then you can't eat healthy foods. All you're going to reach for is junk food. Although it tastes good and it's cheap it means in the long run you are subjecting yourself to obesity problems and that's a worse debt to pay in comparison to being able to eat healthy nutritious foods."
Well done
Good story and coverage, Liam. It's such an important issue for the homeless, if not for everyone else. The sad part is that it's all reverted to the "if it hurts pull the tooth" operational thinking since that's all MassHealth will pay dentists for. I think there are some teaching clinics which might be able to help but in these economic times, I'm not sure they can do it for free anymore, if they ever in fact did.
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