As the U.S. Senate works to pass a healthcare reform bill, a potential compromise between advocates and opponents of a new government-run program has raised questions about dental care.
In the bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, the federal "public option" would compete against private insurance companies in state-run exchanges available for people who could not get insurance otherwise. All plans in the exchanges would include dental benefits for children. States could opt out if they didn't want the public option to be included.
Most Republicans and some Democrats have opposed the public option, and there are not enough supporters of the public option to pass the bill on their own. Details of a proposed compromise have not been released, but the Children's Dental Health Project (CDHP), citing news reports, said it might include eliminating the new government-run plan but allowing people from age 55 to age 64 to buy into Medicare, and creating new nonprofit, privately run insurance programs.
The new programs would be administered through the Office of Management and Budget, in a way similar to the plans administered by the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). "This raises potential concerns because the benefits package under FEHB includes incomplete coverage for oral health and is less than favorable for children," the CHDP newsletter reports.
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