Title

"Cover Story" piece on the vast majority of Maine's approximately 265,000 Medica

Authors

Meg Haskell

Source

Maine Times

Date

10-18-2001

Pages

1, 12-13

Abstract

"Cover Story" piece on the vast majority of Maine's approximately 265,000 Medicaid recipients for whom the promise of dental care is an empty one. Inadequate payments mean fewer than 20 dentists statewide routinely accept Medicaid reimbursements, and many of those will not take new patients under the state-administered program. Maine dentists say Medicaid reimbursements are as little as 10 percent of what they normally bill, and rarely more than 30 percent, which is not enough to cover overhead in most cases. With special focus on the Bangor public clinic, which costs between $100,000 and $130,000 a year to run. Medicaid pays 33 percent of the costs. The rest comes from donations and from the taxpayers of the city of Bangor. Also with a chart comparing private insurance reimbursement for dental services versus Medicaid reimbursement.

Subjects

Dental care

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