Medicare, Medicaid, and marketplace plans should be expanded to include dental, hearing, and vision benefits

PAN’S POSITION

Congress should expand access to comprehensive dental coverage in Medicare, Medicaid, and federal marketplace plans and minimize out-of-pocket costs for these essential health services. 

Why Medicare, Medicaid, and marketplace plans should include these benefits

Since Medicare’s inception in 1965, routine dental care has been excluded from coverage, despite the growing and significant need by beneficiaries. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 24 million people—about half of all Medicare beneficiaries—lack dental coverage and almost half did not visit a dentist in the past year. For Medicaid, dental services for adults 21 and older are an optional benefit. This leads to state variation in coverage policies with many states offering only limited benefits, if any, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. In addition, the federal health insurance marketplace does not offer stand-alone dental plans without the purchase of health insurance on the federal exchange. Foregoing dental care can lead to severe oral health consequences, such as tooth loss, cavities, and gum disease. Research increasingly links poor oral health to conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.