Earlier this year, North Carolina dental providers were hopeful about a bill that would have raised Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Now, a state budget shortfall may instead lead to a decrease.
House Bill 60 would have increased the dental care reimbursement rate from the current 35 percent to 46 percent.
There hasn’t been a change in the rate since 2008. But the measure stalled in the legislature.
The state “minibudget” passed over the summer created a $319 million Medicaid shortfall. To make up the difference, North Carolina health leaders plan to reduce reimbursements by 3 percent.
Now dental advocates have less than a month to press for a change.
Winston-Salem dentist Dr. Robert Stowe says the cut will leave many low-income families without access to care.
“You got a system that the reimbursement is so low now that you have providers who are seeing Medicaid dental patients that they're taking a loss on already,” he says. “Then you're going to cut that fee by 3 percent — it's just untenable.”
Stowe says when patients lose access to oral care, it can affect their overall health as well.