Could dental therapists help bridge the oral health gap in New York? The Time Union article delves into the discussion surrounding a proposed Dental Therapy Bill. The bill aims to improve access to oral healthcare by allowing dental therapists to perform certain procedures.
Excerpt:
“With Medicaid, you’ve got three things: One is low fees, you’ve got too many patients that have failed to show for their appointments and third, because of COVID, our costs have dramatically increased and they’re going to stay that way, because nothing goes down,” Kotlow said. “If we can’t raise our fees somewhat to compensate, we’re going to take patients who are going help pay our bills and cover our overhead.”
Greg Hill, executive director of the New York State Dental Association, said hesitation among dentists largely comes down to stagnant Medicaid reimbursement rates — a problem that won’t be solved by creating a new profession.
“The cost is the cost. The cost of the supplies for a dental therapist is the same as the cost of the supplies for a dentist. We have not seen any evidence that the cost is any less,” Hill said. “Increasing the reimbursement rates has to be one of our key priorities for the state and it’s something we continue to work on.”
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