Illinois Dental Clinics Braced For Changes Following Medicaid Cuts

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Dental clinics across the state of Illinois are braced for change as they prepare for Medicaid cuts to come into force.

Clinics, including Tazewell County Health Department’s dental clinic, are gearing up for major changes to the way they work after authorities announced significant cuts in the Medicaid system. From August, the clinic will only be able to treat adults who have dental emergencies.

Sarah Fenton, director of nursing and clinical services at the clinic, said that incomplete courses of treatment will be completed, despite the fact that the clinic will not be reimbursed for the treatment costs.

The changes to Medicaid funding produce two major problems for the clinic; the first is how it will afford to fund the rest of the treatment for people who are currently mid-way through a course of treatment and the second is how it will continue to provide basic dental care for adults in need. Based on the cuts in funding, it looks increasingly likely that this will not be possible in the future, which will increase the risk of patients developing complex dental problems, which are even more unaffordable.

Dentists and doctors across the state are concerned by the news of cuts, as they believe they will only serve to make the current situation worse and increase spending on health and dental care in the future. H. L. Waldrop, coordinator for general practice dental residency at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, said that there has already been a small increase in the number of hospital admissions for dental complaints and this number is expected to rise in the future.

 

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