I got mine fixed. Screw you!
AHNOLD SEZ JULY FIRST, 2009,NO MORE DENTISTS FOR THE POOR IN MY STATE! !
Budgets threaten dental care
By Cathy Frey
Updated: 05/11/2009 08:18:18 AM PDT
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_12343018?source=most_emailed
On July 1, 3 million Californians will lose access to Denti-Cal, the
state's
dental insurance program for its poorest residents.
In Mendocino County approximately 6,000 individuals will lose their
dental
coverage. For the first time in California's history, Medi-Cal Optional
Benefits, which include dental care for adults, are being eliminated
to
balance the State budget.
While the state claims that the elimination of Denti-Cal will save money
in
the state budget, the costs to patient health and the stability of
the
community safety net far outweigh any potential savings. The cuts in
the
state budget mean a potential loss of approximately $83 million to
the 256
health centers in California currently providing dental services. It
will
also force some health centers to eliminate their entire dental program,
including dental services for children (which are federally mandated)
and
non-Medi-Cal populations.
It's hard to understand how or why the Governor and the legislature
keep
attacking dental benefits for adults covered by Medi-Cal. Reducing
these
critical dental services will only exacerbate overall health conditions
for
the population with the greatest need for dental care, and those most
vulnerable to oral health complications.
Each year, community health centers in Mendocino County provide dental
services to over 6,000 adults. The elimination of dental benefits
represents a staggering loss to our health center's dental programs
and local health centers stand to lose a significant portion of their
revenue, This will result in reductions in services, layoffs of staff
and
longer wait times at our health centers. Mendocino County will be
especially hard hit, as many of our centers are the sole provider of
dental
services in their community.
Needless to say, the elimination of Denti-Cal coverage does not eliminate
the need for dental care. Where will our people go to receive care
as their
oral health problems reach crisis proportions? To our hospitals, of
course.
When the state of Maryland eliminated its adult dental benefits in
1993,
emergency room visits for dental problems rose 21 percent in one year.
Many
emergency rooms are ill equipped to provide these patients more than
extractions, antibiotics and pain medication.
On the surface, eliminating Medi-Cal adult dental services might seem
like
a necessary step in controlling our state's spending and in managing
our
current fiscal crisis. Yet in reality, eliminating Medi-Cal adult dental
will jeopardize the health of thousands of Mendocino County residents.
It
will put an increased burden on an already fragile health care safety
net,
push local hospitals into the oral health business, add to bloated
health
care costs, and force our local dental services staff out of employment.
It is time for policy makers in Sacramento to act responsibly. They
have a
chance to restore Denti-Cal optional benefits. For the well-being of
Mendocino County's communities, the Alliance for Rural Community Health
asks you to contact Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, Senator Pat Wiggins and
Governor Schwarzenegger: Urge them to reconsider the elimination of
this
important health program.
Cathy Frey, MHA is executive director of the Alliance
for Rural Community
Health.
NOTE: Extractions can STILL be done by hospital Emergency Rooms if you
claim pain, in jaw, temple, neck, glands in armpit, groin, and a searing
spike of pain
going toward your heart. That is what it feels like when the infection
in
a tooth starts to infect heart valves.
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