Thousands of Idahoans insured through Medicaid are without dental insurance after deep cuts made by the state during the recession.
Now, some lawmakers aim to restore coverage and argue that it would actually save the state money.
33,000 Idaho adults insured through Medicaid have been without basic dental coverage since benefits were slashed in 2011.
Democratic Rep. Ilana Rubel has garnered bi-partisan support to reverse this policy and says fiscally it makes sense.
"These were recessionary cuts that were made with the idea of once we pull out of the recession they would be restored, but they kind of fell through the cracks, and never were restored," Rubel said.
Only emergency dental care was restored in 2014 for adults with Medicaid, which covers hospitalizations and extractions.
But basic care like fillings, cleaning, crowns and dentures aren't included.
Rubel says those basic services often prevent more costly problems before they become emergencies.
“There are 125 medical problems that have found are caused or made worse by the lack of preventive dental care, things like diabetes and cardiovascular problems, kidney disease, dementia, auto-immune diseases, it’s a very long list and those can be very costly,” Rubel said.
Restoring preventative dental care would cost Idaho $1.2 million, but Rubel says this would be largely offset by how much the state could save.
“The projected savings, just to the state of Idaho, and just on a limited number of ailments I have been able to get numbers on, is over $3 million per year, so by spending $1.2 million per year there is potential to save over $3 million per year in what we’re spending now on dental hospitalizations, increased cost for diabetic patients, increased cost for cardiovascular problems,” Rubel said.
Rubel's legislation is co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Kelly Packer. The bill is still waiting to be introduced to a legislative committee.
