Mich. gov proposes expanding Medicaid dental coverage for kids

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder wants to make 100,000 Medicaid-eligible kids in Macomb and Kalamazoo counties eligible for dental coverage.

The proposal would cost $5.4 million to expand the Healthy Kids Dental program to those two counties, according to an Associated Press story.

The program is now available to 500,000 enrollees younger than age 21 in 78 of Michigan's 83 counties. But it would still be unavailable to about 400,000 poor children in heavily populated Wayne, Oakland, and Kent counties.

Dental visits are 50% higher for children in the program, which has been praised as a model for improving access to dental care for low-income children. Participating dentists agree to accept Delta Dental's payment for covered services as payment in full and do not charge patients.