Policy options for improving dental coverage for people on Medicare
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Issue brief (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
- Author(s):
- Freed, Meredith, author Potetz, Lisa, author Jacobson, Gretchen, author Neuman, Tricia, author
- Contributor(s):
- Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [San Francisco, California] : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2019
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Dental Care Dental Health Services Insurance Coverage Insurance, Dental Medicare Health Policy Health Services Accessibility Medicare Part B Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Since its inception, Medicare, the national health insurance program for more than 60 million older adults and younger people with long-term disabilities, has explicitly excluded coverage of dental services, with limited exceptions. Some Medicare beneficiaries have access to dental coverage through other sources, such as Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid, or private plans (either employer-sponsored retiree plans or plans purchased by individuals), but the scope of coverage under these plans varies widely and is typically quite limited. Nearly two-thirds of the Medicare population--37 million beneficiaries--have no dental coverage at all. Cost concerns and lack of dental coverage contribute to beneficiaries foregoing routine and other dental procedures. Lack of dental care can exacerbate chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, contribute to delayed diagnosis of serious medical conditions, and lead to preventable complications that sometimes result in costly emergency room visits. As a result, there is ongoing interest in policy options to make dental care more affordable by broadening dental coverage for people on Medicare. This issue brief begins with a review of dental coverage permitted under current Medicare law to set the context for understanding proposals that could improve oral health coverage for the Medicare population. It reviews a range of policy options that could make dental care more affordable, examines basic policy features associated with each proposal, and discusses potential implications for key stakeholders, including Medicare beneficiaries, taxpayers, insurers, and dental professionals. This brief describes five potential ways to strengthen oral health care for older adults (Table 1). The first two options would create a new dental benefit under Medicare: one would add dental benefits to Medicare Part B, and the other would establish a separate dental benefit under a new part of Medicare, similar in some ways to the Part D benefit for prescription drugs. The other three options would be expected to provide less help in improving dental coverage and reducing out-of-pocket costs for dental care, and would have a more limited impact on Medicare spending.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (21 pages)).
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101754981 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101754981