Adult dental coverage expanding slowly in Medicaid

NEW YORK At the Interfaith Dental Center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, people with dental pain can walk into a ground floor office off Bedford Avenue and get treated without an appointment. They might have to wait in a packed waiting room. But if they're in the door by 5 p.m., a dentist will see them.

Residents in this low- to middle-income neighborhood likely don't realize how lucky they are. The majority of Americans have to travel miles to see a dentist who takes their insurance, particularly if they're covered by Medicaid. Many dental patients with private insurance cannot afford to pay their share of the bill.

Federal law requires state Medicaid programs to include dental care for children, and the Affordable Care Act extended that requirement to private insurers. But the federal health law did little for adults: While premium tax credits were made available to help low-income people purchase health insurance, the subsidies cannot be used to purchase dental coverage except as an add-on to health coverage. No new dental benefit requirements were included for adults covered by Medicaid.

"The ACA was a big flop when it comes to adult dental coverage," said Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, vice president of the American Dental Association (ADA).