State cuts Medicaid dental benefits for adults

Beginning on Aug. 10, Medicaid dental benefits for adults will revert to what they were in 2006 and cover only emergency services, such as relieving dental pain, eliminating infection and treating acute injuries to the teeth and jaw. Gov. Linda Lingle projects the move will a save the state more than $3.2 million.

The state Human Services Department's Med-QUEST Division notified Medicaid dental providers it will not continue providing the same dental benefits for adults because of the state's fiscal crisis. Children's dental benefits, however, will remain the same.

The cuts will not end there. The Med-QUEST Division is working on other changes as Lingle has asked the Human Services Department to reduce overall Medicaid benefits by 4.3 percent -- a total of about $42 million -- through the next two years.

"I understand why they decided to choose that (adult dental) benefit," said Beth Giesting, executive director of the Hawaii Primary Care Association, an advocate for the 14 community health centers statewide. "But it's so counterproductive to take away a benefit like that, especially when it is capped at a relatively modest level ($500 per year or $1,000 if the person has dentures)."

She said the annual expenditure isn't that great and is essential primary care, and she cited research that has shown links between oral health and premature labor and deliveries and a variety of chronic diseases such as oral cancers, diabetes and heart disease.

"All kinds of things are related to how good your oral health is. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense and doesn't save a whole lot of money, either," she said, adding that neglecting dental conditions can cost more money in the long run.