Washington Children & Young Adults could lose access To Dental Services

No changes in reimbursement rates for Pediatric Dentist’s In 26 years

Photo by Geo Days on Unsplash

It’s no secret that costs have increased over the years and with the period of inflation we are living through, it's safe to assume we will see more rising costs before we see cheaper ones. With the cost of rent, groceries, gas and other necessities swiftly rising in cost, it’s not a mystery that healthcare costs are also rising and they have definitely changed since 1995.

Low-income children and adults are subject to different dental safety nets. States are required to provide dental benefits to children, who are covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

However, one thing that remains steadily the same since 1995 , the payout from state insurance agencies to dentistry offices around Washington State and many others.

The state's inability to raise the reimbursement payout has left offices like Storybook Dental in Camas Washington and others in the surrounding areas to consider the hard decision of discontinuing their acceptance of medicaid otherwise known as state insurance. Some local clinics within Clark ,King and Cowlitz counties have already begun phasing out medicaid patients only accepting ABCD patients otherwise known as those under 6 if accepting any at all.

I had the pleasure to talk to and interview Dentist and owner Dr. Ronald Hsu, DDS, M.S. who owns the Storybook Dental practice in Camas Washington to discuss how the current pay rate affects their patients, their practice and their recent consideration of discontinuing services which would affect dozens of families who currently go there for their children’s care which is like most Dr’s and Dentists that is the last thing they want to do.

With a large influx of kids unseen and seeking services, clinics are overwhelmed with demand but don’t have enough staff or funding to provide services when reimbursement rates are low and not just low, but the same reimbursement rates that were used in 1995.

Recently Washington State legislatures agreed on the $59 billion operating budget for the 2021–23 biennium, which included the approximately $76 million…