California has a pension system that is $1.4 trillion in unfunded liabilities and has grown at a rate of 45% in the past two years. We have the worst roads in the nation. Our schools are example of why unions and special interests have killed education in this State. Police are protecting criminals from foreign countries (except for the Fresno Sheriff) while making victims of honest citizens.
The GOP has picked an issue to take the lead on—no not lower taxes, water for farmers—dental care for the poor. Like the Democrats, GOP Assembly leader believes throwing money at a failed system is the answer. In fact it is government regulations, mandates and policies that keep the poor from dental care. Create more jobs, instead of killing them, allow the poor to have the dignity of a job and ability to pay for needed services.
“The Republican bill, AB 15, would put all $200 million into paying dentists a better rate, in the hopes of attracting more dentists to participate in the program.
“We need to make it as efficient and effective as possible, so that millions of adults and kids in California that aren’t able to receive dental services are able to get them,” Mayes said.
But it’s not clear that giving dentists more money actually results in more patients getting care.
The report from the Little Hoover Commission – a report Mayes and other Republicans cite frequently in defending their bill – includes 11 recommendations on how to fix Denti-Cal.”
Does anybody believe in an era of higher taxes and more regulations, a few bucks will provide dental care for the poor. Fix the system so dentists will want to provide the services. It is not the money it is the policy. What do you think?
Photo Courtesy of 401(K) 2013, Flickr
Why are California Republicans Prioritizing Dental Care for the Poor?
By April Dembosky, KQED, 12/22/16
Democrats have traditionally been the ones to champion health care programs for low-income Californians. But this month, Republicans proposed a bill that would put $200 million dollars toward improving Denti-Cal, the state’s free dental care program for the poor.
“If you have a program that already exists that isn’t properly funded, and isn’t working properly, you should fix that first before spending money on new programs,” said Chad Mayes, an Assembly Republican leader who represents Yucca Valley.
About 13 million Californians are eligible for Denti-Cal, including 5 million children. But the program is widely viewed as “broken,” “bureaucratically rigid,” and “a disaster,” according to a 2016 report from the Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency.
Most people who have Denti-Cal never actually see the dentist, because they can’t find one who accepts their coverage. Eleven counties in California have no dentists who accept Denti-Cal or who are accepting new Denti-Cal patients, according to a 2014 California State Auditor report.
“And we just think that that’s wrong,” Mayes said.
Many dentists limit the number of Denti-Cal patients they see, or stop seeing them altogether because the pay is too low: California’s reimbursement rates are 35 percent of the national average.
The Republican bill, AB 15, would put all $200 million into paying dentists a better rate, in the hopes of attracting more dentists to participate in the program.
“We need to make it as efficient and effective as possible, so that millions of adults and kids in California that aren’t able to receive dental services are able to get them,” Mayes said.
But it’s not clear that giving dentists more money actually results in more patients getting care.
The report from the Little Hoover Commission – a report Mayes and other Republicans cite frequently in defending their bill – includes 11 recommendations on how to fix Denti-Cal.
Not one of the recommendations involves increasing payments to dentists. In fact, the report calls across-the-board rate hikes a “costly” move that would result in attracting only “a few more Denti-Cal providers.”
Instead, the report recommends improving the Denti-Cal program by simplifying paperwork, focusing on less expensive prevention strategies (like having pediatricians teach patients about good oral hygiene), and establishing dental clinics inside schools or community centers in remote areas, so that patients can go to a centrally located place for care, rather than traveling 60 miles to a dentist’s office.
Senate Republican Leader Jean Fuller, who represents Kern County, acknowledged that the bill doesn’t address those recommendations.
“Yes, there are a lot of things that I would like to fix about the program. But I am not the majority party, unfortunately. I am not likely to get to adjust those,” she said. “There are 120,000 children in my district who are not getting the service. So my job is to fight for my children to get what I can.”
Paying dentists more money is really about making dentists happy, says Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
“It’s certainly a Republican goal to be business friendly,” she said. “This proposal is actually a business-friendly, a professional-friendly proposal to try and say to a dentist, ‘You will get higher reimbursement rates and you will be able to serve poor clients.’”
Levinson says there could also be something else at play here: campaign money. The California Dental Association gives to both parties in the state, but has been giving more to Republicans in recent years. And when it comes to Californian candidates running for federal offices, this year the Association gave exclusively to Republicans. That’s a complete turnaround from 25 years ago, when the Association gave only to Democrats running at that level.
“It’s obvious to me that state office holders in California would be well aware of the fact that the California Dental Association is spending a lot of money for Republican candidates on the federal level,” Levinson said, “So they may be hoping that that money will soon come their way.”
Republicans and Democrats both are always on the lookout for new sources of campaign money. Asked if the Dental Association’s shift in giving influenced the Republican bill, Assemblyman Chad Mayes said he wasn’t aware of the shift.
“Actually, I’m a bit offended by even asking the question, because we really, genuinely care about the people of California,” he said. “This is about fixing a broken governmental program.”
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