By Bryan Thompson, Kansas Public Radio
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-980164.mp3
SALINA, Ks. – The Kansas Dental Association is urging dentists who are not currently accepting Medicaid as payment to sign up for the government-funded insurance program. As Kansas Public Radio's Bryan Thompson reports, the goal is to help give poor children access to dental care.
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The association's executive director, Kevin Robertson, says the average Kansas dentist provides free and reduced fee care worth $33,000 every year. With 1400 dentists statewide, that adds up to more than $46 million worth of charitable care annually.
But Robertson says dentists still get a black eye because only one in four take patients insured by medicaid.
"The amount of charitable care that dentists do is not seen in quite the light that it should be because of the number of participants on medicaid," says Robertson. "So we're asking for the profession and for the good of Kansans patients, that people step up and provide more care to medicaid recipients."
Robertson understands that overhead costs in the average dental office are high enough to cause providers to lose a little bit of money on each medicaid patient. Still, he says claims processing has improved.
Robertson is optimistic that at least 140 dentists will answer the call and give medicaid another try.
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