House panel hears bipartisan calls for legislative study on dental access for Medicaid recipients

House Human Services Committee members heard more than an hour of testimony Wednesday on House Bill 1567, which would direct a legislative management study of dental and oral health care status for low-income children, Native American children and people with disabilities and include a $97,000 appropriation to support dental student rotations.

Representative Mary Schneider, R‑District 21, told the committee the study is meant to update and expand prior work on dental access and to produce an action plan with goals, costs and recommended legislation.

The bill’s study would review the current oral health status of the three target groups, examine reimbursement and enrollment barriers for dentists in Medicaid, and consider partnerships between state programs and tribal health providers. It also asks for a review of reimbursement rates, availability of facilities for complex dental procedures, and workforce recruitment and retention strategies, including loan forgiveness and student rotations.

"House Bill 1567 is a request for an interim study on the unmet dental and oral…