MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – A central Wisconsin lawmaker wants to add his area to a pilot program aimed at getting more dentists to treat low income patients.
Governor Scott Walker’s proposed state budget would grant higher Medicaid reimbursements to dentists in Brown, Racine, and Polk counties. And freshman Assembly Republican Dave Heaton of Wausau wants his colleagues to add his home county of Marathon to that list.
For years, Wisconsin dentists have received some of the nation’s smallest reimbursements to treat low income patients. And because it doesn’t cover their costs, many dentists limit or refuse to take patients in BadgerCare Plus.
In 2013, almost 28,000 Wisconsinites with dental-related pain went to hospital emergency rooms because they were not assured of care anywhere else. That was down by 1,800 from four years before.
Heaton says it might cost the state more upfront to serve more Medicaid patients — but it will save far more in the long run.
The budget which contains the pilot program is still being modified in the Joint Finance Committee. You can expect more changes when it goes through both houses — and again when Governor Scott Walker signs the budget, which is expected to be around the start of the new fiscal year on July 1st.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
