Despite 47 states offering some form of dental coverage through Medicaid programs—one source of dental insurance for low-income Medicare beneficiaries—an AHRQ-funded review of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, published in Health Services Research, found that Medicare beneficiaries with modest incomes face substantial challenges accessing dental care. These challenges are amplified among beneficiaries whose incomes slightly exceed the income limits for Medicaid, but who may lack other affordable dental coverage, because Medicare does not cover dental care as a standard benefit. These Medicare beneficiaries face an abrupt drop-off, or “cliff” in dental coverage, which may impact their access to needed dental care. Medicare beneficiaries whose incomes exceeded Medicaid eligibility limits were 5 percentage points more likely to report difficulty accessing dental care due to cost concerns or a lack of insurance—a one-third increase over the proportion of beneficiaries below these limits reporting difficulty getting dental care. Expanding dental coverage for Medicare beneficiaries could close gaps in access that arise from the current lack of comprehensive dental coverage in Medicare—particularly among beneficiaries with modest incomes. Access the abstract.
