Despite insurance, the poorest adults have the worst access to dental care

Despite insurance, the poorest adults have the worst access to dental care

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Series Title(s):
Health policy brief (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research)
Author(s):
Pourat, Nadereh, author
Ditter, Maria, author
Contributor(s):
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, issuing body.
Publication:
Los Angeles, CA : UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, July 2020
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Dental Care
Health Services Accessibility
Poverty
Insurance, Dental
United States
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
Oral health is critical for overall health and well-being, yet it is not considered an essential health benefit for adults under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Long-standing income disparities in oral health have been documented and are linked to lower rates of dental insurance and subsequent limited access to oral health care. We examined pooled data from the 2017 and 2018 California Health Interview Surveys to assess whether there were income and dental insurance disparities among California adults, and, if so, whether such disparities included access to timely dental care. We found that low-income California adults were less likely to have had timely dental visits, more likely to have had visits for dental problems, and less likely to have had private dental insurance than their higher-income counterparts. We also found that dental insurance alleviated some, but not all, income disparities in access. These findings highlight the importance of considering dental health as an essential health benefit and of ensuring parity in dental benefits, among other potential policy solutions for reducing disparities in dental coverage and access.
Copyright:
Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (7 pages, 1 unnumbered page))
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
101773753 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101773753