Coverage

An Oral Health Benefit in Medicare Part B: It’s Time to Include Oral Health in Health Care

59 million seniors and people with disabilities rely on Medicare for their health care, but it doesn’t cover part of the body that causes all kinds of health problems—the mouth. Fa...

Community Statement on Medicare Coverage for Medically Necessary Oral and Dental Health Therapies

Millions of seniors and people with disabilities rely on Medicare for their health care, but it does not cover their oral health care. Even if someone needs dental care in order to have a medical proc...

Buying Children’s Dental Coverage Through the Marketplace

Updated for the 2020 plan year, Families USA and the Children’s Dental Health Project published this guide to help families choose a pediatric oral health plan in their state’s marketplace. During...

For Rural Seniors, Improving Overall Health Requires Improving Oral Health Care

Oral health matters for seniors in rural America. In rural areas, nearly one-fifth of residents are 65 and over. This population faces major barriers to good oral health, including cost, lack of denta...

For California’s Rural Seniors, Improving Oral Health Care Could Mean Better Health

Oral health matters for seniors in rural California. This population faces major barriers to good oral health, including cost, lack of dental coverage, and limited access to providers. Without address...

Families USA Joins Oral Health, Senior Advocates in Support of Medicare Dental Benefit Act

Families USA is encouraged to see oral health coming up early in the 116th Congress with Senator Cardin introducing S. 22, the Medicare Dental Benefit Act of 2019 earlier this week. This legislation s...

A Deep Dive into the Connections Between Oral and Behavioral Health

Oral health is an important aspect of overall health and influences physical and mental well-being, but receives less of its fair share of attention and resources. For people with mental health condit...

Oral Health for All: Addressing Dental Coverage for Grownups in Congress and the States

Oral health coverage for adults is excluded from Medicare and minimal in most state Medicaid programs. Luckily, some federal and state lawmakers are realizing what we all know—that oral health is cr...

Health Care Victories in the 2018 State Legislative Sessions

While congressional health care legislation stalled and federal actions undermined provisions of the Affordable Care Act, state policymakers stepped up to address a range of issues affecting health ca...

Community Health Workers: Key Partners in Improving Children’s Health and Eliminating Inequities

Community Health Workers are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of, and deeply rooted in, the communities they serve. Increasingly, CHWs are recognized as playing a unique and inv...