Illinois program would raise some Medicaid rates

A bill introduced in the Illinois state Senate would increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for dentists in a pilot program. In designated shortage areas, dentists would get up to 64% of the reimbursement level that the state pays for dental services rendered to state employees.

For specialty services, as defined by the insurance code, when rendered to children, dentists would get the same rate of reimbursement as dentists get who treat state employees. And dentists who increase the proportion of Medicaid patients among the patients they treat would get unspecified incentive payments.

Senate Bill 3302, sponsored by Sen. Deanna Demuzio (D-Carlinville), has not yet been assigned to committee.

Currently, fewer than one in three dentists in Illinois accept Medicaid patients, according to an article in the State Journal Register. The proposed legislation is a pilot program to see whether increasing reimbursement rates will expand the number of dentists who treat Medicaid patients, the Register reported.

The article quotes Illinois Medicaid Director Theresa Eagleson as saying that the state simply doesn't have enough money to deal with the problem of access to dental care in the state. She said that the state has fixed a problem with delayed reimbursement and now pays dentists within 30 days, according to the article.

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