Ind. dental Medicaid cutbacks kick in

Cuts in Indiana's adult dental and vision Medicaid benefits took effect January 1, with more cuts likely in coming months as the state tries to address a $31.4 million budget deficit, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

The Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning has approved a series of emergency rules that it expects to save a total of $4.1 million over the next six months, the Tribune reported.

The emergency rules were instituted without the usual public notice and comment procedures, but they expire in 90 days. They can be extended once for another 90 days, and the Medicaid office is aiming to make the cuts permanent, according to the story.

Capping dental services at $1,000 per year for Medicaid members older than age 21 will save about $1.5 million over the next six months, according to state officials. While the cap is expected to affect fewer than 7,000 of Indiana's roughly 400,000 adults on Medicaid, it could have the unintended effect of driving some Medicaid recipients with severe toothaches, infections, and other dental emergencies to hospital emergency rooms, thus shifting costs to hospitals, since hospitals are barred by law from turning away patients, Doug Bush, executive director of the Indiana Dental Association, told the Tribune.

Medicaid officials said the dental association was painting "a doomsday scenario."

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