House Democrats Step Up Oversight Of Medicaid Dental Coverage For Children, NPR Reports
At a recent House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing, Dennis Smith -- director of Medicaid at CMS -- said states are responsible for the shortage of dentists because their Medicaid reimbursement rates are too low. "States control reimbursement rates," Smith said, adding, "It's the states who set how much they will pay their providers."
Reform Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) noted that Medicaid is jointly funded by states and the federal government, adding, "Have you ever asked the state[s] to increase their reimbursement levels? Have you ever told them they're breaking the law by not providing a sufficient reimbursement level to provide the care for those people who are eligible?"
Smith said his only enforcement option would be to withhold all federal Medicaid funding from a state. Sara Rosenbaum, a health policy researcher at George Washington University, said, "In Medicaid, oversight of current program operations may be far more important than changing the law" (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 5/7).
Audio of the segment is available online.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Casa-Democrat pas sus de Supravegherea Medicaid acoperire de medicina dentara pentru copii, NPR rapoarte - House Democrats Step Up Oversight Of Medicaid Dental Coverage For Children, NPR Reports - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate