• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Donate Now
  • Sign Up

Center for Medicare Advocacy

Advancing Access to Medicare and Healthcare

  • Eligibility/Enrollment
  • Coverage/Appeals
    • Medicare Costs (2021)
    • Self Help Materials – Toolkits & More
  • Topics
    • Basic Introduction to Medicare
    • COVID-19 and Medicare
    • Medicare Costs (2021)
    • Home Health Care
    • Improvement Standard and Jimmo News
    • Nursing Home / Skilled Nursing Facility Care
    • Outpatient Observation Status
    • Part B
    • Part D / Prescription Drug Benefits
    • Medicare for People Under 65
    • Medicare “Reform”
    • All Other Topics
    • Resources
      • Infographics
  • Publications
    • CMA Alerts
    • Fact Sheets & Issue Briefs
    • Infographics
    • The Medicare Handbook
    • SNF Enforcement Newsletter
    • Elder Justice Newsletter
    • Medicare Facts & Fiction
    • Articles by Topic
  • Litigation
    • Litigation News
    • Cases
    • Litigation Archive
    • Amicus Curiae Activities
  • Newsroom
    • Press Releases
    • Editorials & Letters to the Editor
    • CMA Comments, Responses, and Letters
    • Medicare Facts & Fiction
    • CMA in the News
  • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • CMA FAQs
    • Annual Report
    • Personnel & Boards
    • The Center for Medicare Advocacy Founder’s Circle
    • Connecticut Dually Eligible Appeals Project
    • Ossen Medicare Outreach, Education and Advocacy Project
    • National Medicare Advocates Alliance
    • National Voices of Medicare Summit
    • CMA Webinars
    • Products & Services
    • Testimonials
    • Career, Fellowship & Internship Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Support Our Work
    • Donate Now
    • Join the Center for Medicare Advocacy Founder’s Circle
    • Take Action
    • Share Your Health Care Story
    • Tell Congress to Protect Our Care
    • Listen to Medicare & Health Care Stories
    • Sign Up

Congressional Subcommittee Examines Issues of Dental Health

March 8, 2012

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Last week, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging held a hearing to discuss the growing dental crisis in America. As the Center recently wrote, most people who rely on Medicare go without basic dental care due to lack of coverage. The Senate hearing revealed dismaying new facts about the state of older Americans' dental health.

A new report shows that more than one quarter of Americans over age 65 have lost all of their teeth.[1] For adults who have retained their teeth thanks to access to dental coverage in their working years, the lack of coverage when they come into Medicare means they go without important basic care needed to maintain their dental health.[2] Experts who testified discussed the lack of coverage for older Americans and the repercussions for overall health and costs, while reiterating over and again that basic primary care prevents adverse health outcomes and expensive treatments in costly settings.  

Expanding access and coverage for primary dental care in Medicare is critical to ensuring that older Americans get the care they need to stay healthy, nourished, and avoid more intense and expensive health care.  By investing in our future with a dental benefit in Medicare, we can improve the health of older and disabled people while reducing costs in the long-term. click here to find out more.

 

 

 


[1] "Dental Crisis in America: The Need to Expand Access", A Report from Senator Bernard Sanders, Chairman, Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, February 2012, available at http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/DENTALCRISIS.REPORT.pdf.
[2] Testimony of Burton Edelstein, DDS MPH, Senate HELP Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, February 2012, available at: http://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Edelstein.pdf. 

 

 

Filed Under: Article Tagged With: Dental, Medicare and Health Care Reform, Medicare and Health Reform, Medicare Part B, Weekly Alert

Primary Sidebar

Easy Access to Understanding Medicare

The Center for Medicare Advocacy produces a range of informative materials on Medicare-related topics. Check them out:

  • Medicare Basics
  • CMA Alerts
  • CMA Webinars
  • Connecticut Info & Projects
  • Health Care Stories
  • Se habla Español

Sign Up for CMA Alerts

Jimmo v. Sebelius

Medicare covers skilled care to maintain or slow decline as well as to improve.

Improvement Isn’t Required. It’s the law!

Read more.

Medicare: Build Back Better

By prioritizing Medicare beneficiaries and the health systems that serve them, we can avoid drastic national consequences. The Center for Medicare Advocacy proposes a five-part plan that will make Medicare a bulwark against the worsening health and economic challenges facing the American people.

Learn more.

Latest Tweets

  • Special thanks from @CMAorg to @PowersLawFirm for the many years of ongoing support and for sponsoring our recent N… https://t.co/8z36yJHyQd, 10 hours ago
@CMAorg

Footer

Stay Connected:

  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Products & Services
  • Copyright/Privacy

© 2021 · Center for Medicare Advocacy