A recent update from the Ohio Dental Association shared data supporting the fact that increased reimbursement facilitates a greater number of Medicaid patients seen for oral health care needs.
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In January 2024, Ohio increased, on average, dental Medicaid fees by 93% per procedure! These reimbursement increases are having a significant impact on the state’s Medicaid program – in terms of increasing the number of dentists treating Medicaid-covered patients and the number of Medicaid patients that existing Medicaid providers are treating.
A recent survey revealed that:
- 8% of Medicaid dentists were not Medicaid providers prior to the reimbursement increases
- 32% of existing Medicaid dentists are treating 55 new Medicaid patients/per month on average
- 50% of Medicaid dentists who have not yet incorporated an increase in Medicaid patients expect to do so in the next year
- 26% of non-Medicaid providers said the fee increases made the more likely to treat Medicaid patients in the future.
While this is good news for existing and new Medicaid dental providers, the real winners here are Medicaid-covered patients who now have better access to critical dental services and shorter wait times and travel distances to get into the dental office.
