(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
ABOUT 50 million Americans have Medicare, their original version of our PhilHealth which is a newcomer here in our shores.
In the U.S. of A., nearly half of Americans have no dental insurance. Consequently, a lot many of them can’t afford to pay for dental care out of their own pocket.
One reason is that common dental procedures in America cost, on average, more than the monthly benefits from social security that these Medicare beneficiaries receive. That is, dental procedures cost more than what they receive in state pensions.
So much so that these Medicare beneficiaries did not visit a dentist in the past year. Most of them are Black, Hispanic, Native American and those in the low-income bracket.
Now comes President Biden’s $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” initiative; it does sound like our very own “Build, Build, Build” but its trillions of dollars more than that.
The “Build Back Better” bill which passed the Lower House of the US Congress in November wanted to cover hearing and vision as well as the dental costs of elderly and disabled Americans enrolled in the Medicare program.
The bill that passed the Lower House will add hearing coverage in Medicare but not for vision or dental benefit.
The bill is up for approval in the U.S. Senate.
The House bill’s dental coverage would have included preventative, basic and major dental treatments, and full or partial dentures every five years, says theguardian.com.
To cover preventive, screening and basic services, beneficiaries would share 20 percent of the cost, an amount that would increase to 50 percent by 2032.
The popular senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders says the expanded coverage is “non-negotiable”.
A Democrat who tried to get the nomination for president in 2016, Senator Sanders supports universal healthcare, paid parental leave, tuition-free college education, and an ambitious plan to create jobs addressing climate change.
Just like Mr. Sanders, most Americans support the inclusion of dental care coverage when Medicare is expanded, as show in a survey of over 2,000 Americans conducted by CBS/YouGov in October. The survey found that more than eight in 10 or 84 percent support federal funding that will cover dental, vision and hearing expenses, theguardian.com reports.
It quotes Melissa Burroughts of Families USA as saying that “dental care is so expensive without insurance that it’s often skipped. It’s the No 1 medical service people in America skip due to costs.”
If dental care is included in Medicare now, over 60 million elderly and those with disabilities would benefit, says Ms. Burroughs who heads the advocacy group’s oral-health-for-all campaign.
Julie Carter of the Medicare Rights Center wants dental coverage included in the Medicare program “and to be treated like the integral part of the body that the mouth is.”
Ms. Carter, who is the senior federal policy associate at the Center, was reacting to the proposal of the American Dental Association (ADA) which is opposing the expansion of Medicare to include dental coverage.
Instead, the ADA wants means-testing of dental coverage for seniors with annual incomes below $39,000.
In America, means testing determines the ability of an individual or family to afford health care without government help.
Medicare advocates say that expanding means testing for Medicare beneficiaries could decrease access and affordability for health care, including dental care. They say it could deprive Americans the ability to eat properly and socially interact because of compromised oral health.
“We don’t feel like it should ever have been excluding dental care and we really want a comprehensive benefit within the Medicare program to combat all of these issues,” Ms. Carter says.
That is now unlikely to happen even with the bill still to pass the U.S. Senate and Senator Sanders.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; and Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
