Studies from University of Illinois Further Understanding of Managed Care (Access To Restorative Oral Health Care for Children Living In Illinois With Medicaid Vs Private Dental Insurance an Audit Study): Managed Care

2023 DEC 20 (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 originating from Chicago, Illinois, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Public dental insurance programs for children aim to provide access to care, but barriers remain that preclude care delivery. Understanding these barriers is an important health policy concern.”

Financial supporters for this research include Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation, Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation, University of Illinois Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Illinois, “A telephone audit sought to ascertain availability of oral health care for children in dental offices eligible to bill Medicaid. Female callers posing as mothers called eligible offices requesting appointments. In this cross-over design, offices were randomized to public or private insurance for initial calls and then to the other condition after a washout period. Using mixed models, privately insured patients had 5.9 times (95% CI, 4.55 to 7.69) greater odds of obtaining an appointment than Medicaid patients. Compared with patients in Cook County, suburban patients had slightly better odds, whereas nonurban patients in larger and smaller rural counties had lower odds of success. Medicaid compares poorly with private insurance for providing access to pediatric oral health care. Regardless of insurance conditions, access is poor in less urban environments compared with metropolitan communities.Practical Implications. Even Medicaid-enrolled dental practices limit the care they extend to insured children.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Providing Medicaid by itself cannot overcome large oral health care access disparities, which are greatest in rural communities.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Access To Restorative Oral Health Care for Children Living In Illinois With Medicaid Vs Private Dental Insurance an Audit Study. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 2023;154(11):984-990. The Journal of the American Dental Association can be contacted at: Amer Dental Assoc, 211 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Charles W. LeHew, University of Illinois, College of Dentistry, Dept. of Pediatric Dentistry, Chicago, IL, United States. Additional authors for this research include Yi-Fan Chen, Patrick D. Smith, Brittaney Hill, Flavia Lamberghini and Alejandra Valencia.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2023.07.018. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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