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House approves Medicaid dental pilot tying University of Utah study to services for people experiencing homelessness
Summary
The House passed first substitute HB 435 unanimously (69–0). Sponsor Representative Eliason said the University of Utah School of Dentistry will cover the state's Medicaid match for a pilot that reported higher treatment completion, employment outcomes and reductions in homelessness among participants.
The Utah House on March 1–2, 2018 approved first substitute House Bill 435, a measure to extend Medicaid dental benefits as part of a pilot that the sponsor said served people experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder.
Representative Eliason told the House the pilot, funded for three years by a HRSA grant and run through the University of Utah School of Dentistry, produced meaningful results in committee testimony: he cited a 48 percent higher treatment-completion rate among participants compared with a control group, a 212 percent greater improvement in employment at discharge, a 55 percent greater reduction in homelessness and a 27 percent higher rate of sustained abstinence after treatment. Eliason said the program served roughly 1,000 people in both the program and control groups in the study and that the School of Dentistry agreed to pay 100 percent of the state's Medicaid match for the pilot, leaving a stated fiscal note to the state of $0.
Representative Thurston asked whether the proposal would increase overall Medicaid enrollment; Eliason answered that it would not — the bill changes benefit mix, not eligibility, and modeled the structure on prior legislation that restored dental benefits for certain disabled populations. When asked how the program provides more services with no additional state money, Eliason reiterated the School of Dentistry’s commitment to fund the state's share and emphasized educational benefits for dental students who gain experience treating difficult-to-serve patients.
Supporters framed the proposal as aligned with Operation Rio Grande and the state's homelessness and opioid-recovery efforts; Eliason described the measure as low-cost to the state and likely to improve treatment retention and post-treatment outcomes. The House approved the bill by voice vote with the clerk later recording 69 yes and 0 no, and the bill was transmitted to the Senate for consideration.
Next steps: HB 435 will go to the Senate for consideration. Committee reports and any implementing guidance or fiscal reconciliations will determine program rollout and metrics for measuring statewide results.
