Children's Dental Health: New York
Making Coverage Matter
New York meets five of the eight policy benchmarks aimed at addressing children's dental health needs. The state reports that sealant programs are now in place in more than one-quarter of its high-risk schools. New York also edged over the threshold for Medicaid utilization, with 38.4 percent of Medicaid-enrolled children receiving dental care in 2009. But the state's Medicaid payment rates fell relative to dentists' usual fees. Despite the difficult economic climate, New York was the only state to expand Medicaid eligibility and benefits through 2011.1
1. J. Zremski, “New York Only State to Broaden Medicaid,” Buffalo News (October 1, 2010) http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/washington/article207116.ece (accessed February 24, 2011).
