New Findings Reported from American Dental Association Describe Advances in Managed Care (Medicare Advantage Dental Benefits: Comprehensive Coverage Available In Fewer Than Half Of US Counties): Managed Care

2026 JUN 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Managed Care is the subject of a report. According to news reporting from Chicago, Illinois, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Medicare Advantage (MA) plans may offer dental coverage, a supplemental benefit excluded from traditional Medicare despite the importance of oral health to overall health. This study examined the availability of MA dental coverage by county and the characteristics associated with plan availability in 2023.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from American Dental Association, “Using public data collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services describing MA supplemental benefits, we found that beneficiaries could choose from an average of 34.9 plans offering a benefit but only 1.7 plans offering a comprehensive dental benefit. Nationally, 39.9 percent of counties offered at least one comprehensive dental plan. Using Poisson regression accounting for county-level characteristics, we found that a larger population, higher MA market penetration, and lower MA insurer concentration had the strongest associations with dental benefit availability.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Policy makers should consider quality benchmarks for MA dental plans and further evaluate the appropriate role of these benefits in incentivizing MA plan enrollment.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Medicare Advantage Dental Benefits: Comprehensive Coverage Available In Fewer Than Half Of US Counties. Health Affairs, 2025;44(6):693-701.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Marko Vujicic, Marko Vujicic, American Dental Association, Chicago, Illinois. Additional authors for this research include Lisa Simon and Kamyar Nasseh.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)