• 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

Issue Brief Examines Oral Health for Older Adults in California

August 10, 2016

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Justice in Aging, one of the Center's longtime partners, recently released an issue brief, Oral Health in California: What About Older Adults? The Issue Brief includes a summary of the state of oral health for older adults in California. It cites disparities in oral health based on income level, education and race.

The Brief also outlines the unique barriers to oral health care that older adults face in California. These include the low Medicaid reimbursement rates for dental services in California, among the lowest in the country; the correspondingly low provider participation; administrative problems with Denti-Cal, the program under California’s Medicaid responsible for offering dental service; and the fact that considerations of oral health needs specific to older adults have been essentially left out of California’s discussions on how to improve oral healthcare. The brief cites some troubling statistics for California: only one in four California dental providers provide services to Denti-Cal enrollees, and California is currently ranked 30th in the nation with regard to how it addresses oral health for older adults.

The brief presents high-level recommendations to begin improving oral health for older adults. These include: improving provider access; including older adults in a state oral health plan; expanding covered services; streamlining program administration; creating incentives to treat older adults; and promoting co-location of services.

Oral Health in California: What About Older Adults? is available at: http://www.justiceinaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Oral-Health-in-CA_What-About-Older-Adults.pdf.

Filed Under: Article Tagged With: Dental, oral-health, 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

  • RT @SarahLenzLock: ⁦@CMAorg⁩ presents ⁦@tricia_neuman⁩ slide on #Medicare solvency projections - what happened in 2018 that started p… https://t.co/rlKmTTcpQq, Apr 1
@CMAorg

Footer

Stay Connected:

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

© 2021 · Center for Medicare Advocacy