Statewide Iowa — Dentists are urging Iowa lawmakers to plug an extra $31,500,000 in Iowa’s Medicaid budget to cover dental care.
Laurie Traetow is executive director of the Iowa Dental Association. She says for the past 20 years, there’s been no change in what the state pays dentists who provide care to Iowans covered by Medicaid.
Traetow says dentists are dealing with financial pressures, like rising supply costs and workforce shortages that push wage expectations higher for the staff in dental offices.
The Iowa Dental Association is suggesting the dental care reimbursement rate for Medicaid patients rise to the level set in a separate government program that helps working parents acquire private health insurance for their children.
The latest state report indicates more than 800,000 Iowans are enrolled in the Medicaid program.
