Amid the tidings of cuts in dental programs, one state may dish out some actual increases, according to the Kennebec Journal.
Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess (R-Cumberland) sponsored bill L.D. 624, "To Implement Certain Recommendations of the Report of the Governor's Task Force on Expanding Access to Oral Health Care for Maine People," the newspaper reported.
The bill would increase rates for certain critical dental services at a cost of $2.8 million.
"I do not think there are any voices who are against the bill in pure principle, other than there is no money," Rep. Strang Burgess told the newspaper. "Clearly dentists and several other professionals, like speech and hearing, are not reimbursed at logical market rates."
Previous cuts have already put pressure on the dental safety net in Maine, with cut backs at existing dental clinics and at least some emergency rooms experiencing an increase in the number of dental patients.
The bill will, which was debated in the current legislative session without conclusion, will be reconsidered in January 2010, the newspaper reported.
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