Mo. governor cuts funding for adult dental Medicaid coverage

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has cut funding for adult dental Medicaid coverage, just a month after lawmakers had restored funding for such dental care.

Nixon vetoed about $1.1 billion in spending for the fiscal year that began in July, saying the cuts were necessary to balance the state budget, according to a KCUR.org story. About $18 million that would have gone toward restoring basic dental benefits for hundreds of thousands of low-income Missouri adults is now in question.

Dental funds for adult Medicaid recipients are one of the largest items among the dozens included in the governor's cuts. Part of the money withheld by Nixon would have funded four regional dental pilot programs aimed at diverting cases from hospital emergency rooms.

Oral health advocates estimated that the restored benefits, which were part of a larger package of Medicaid cuts enacted a decade ago, would have extended services to about 300,000 adults. Missouri Medicaid currently provides dental services for pregnant women, children, the blind, and persons with disabilities. The reinstated benefits would have paid for additional services such as cleanings, fillings, x-rays, and extractions.