The oral healthcare in America does not receive adequate attention as is required and is often overlooked when discussing healthcare reforms. As a result, America’s older adults do not access to quality oral health services. Nonetheless, the healthcare industry is working to introduce policies that will address the existing gap in Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance to cover dental care. These reform strategies are likely to increase accessibility, advance education and create new training opportunities to improve the oral hygiene and care in America’s older adults.
Debates on oral health coverage, policy, and advocacy reveal that proposals aimed at improving healthcare in America through the discussions on Medicare, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act – show that oral healthcare is always left out. Consequently, this exclusion has contributed to the deteriorating oral healthcare for America’s older adults since the insurance coverage reforms do not consider oral healthcare. The Center for Medicare Advocacy (2016) asserts that at least 70% of the older Americans do not have a reliable dental insurance cover. Thus, a large population of older adults is at risk, since oral healthcare impacts the overall health and well-being of an individual. Moreover, at least one out of every four Americans who are older than 65 years has lost their teeth.
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America's healthcare programs include minimal or no coverage for individuals to receive routine dental care services. For instance, Medicare covers less than 1% of dental services. Additionally, the American healthcare insurance covers selected inpatient dental procedures and some dental care that are a requirement to support another health service that is covered by Medicare. However, the exclusion criteria leave a majority of the older adults without the dental insurance coverage from Medicare. Additionally, Medicaid which was developed for low-income Americans does not do any better to improve oral healthcare in America's older adults.
There are healthcare policies and programs that are designed to increase the accessibility of quality oral healthcare for America's older adults. These reforms include comprehensive policies that address the existing gap in oral healthcare for older adults by providing solutions to the lack of health insurance coverage. The reforms aim at expanding insurance access through the proposal of medical legislation that advocates for comprehensive coverage, enhances federal funding for Medicaid dental services, and improves public reporting. Additionally, the legislation is keen to address the lack of sufficient dental providers and access to dental services. The second proposal is to train the healthcare workforce on how to care for older adults through a federal grant initiative called the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP). Thirdly, the reforms advocate for disease prevention and health promotion strategies among older adults – an example is the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2016 that supports older adults and their caregivers.
Reaching vulnerable populations in residential settings is crucial in promoting quality and accessible healthcare among America's older adults. For instance, The Action for Dental Health Act of 2015 supported organizations to issue their applications for oral health grants provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which are focused on advancing oral health education and dental disease prevention. Additionally, the grants would also provide an opportunity to increase the dental home programs for children, adults and older adults. This legislation would mainly benefit older adults that are living in nursing homes. Overall, despite the initiatives discussed and the introduction of new policies and reform proposals, there is still much more that needs to be done to improve the oral health and well-being of America's older adults
Reference
Nagro, J. (2016). Oral Healthcare Advocacy: Finally on the Upswing. Journal of the American Society on Aging; 40 (6).
Center for Medicare Advocacy. (2016). “New Report: Expanded Dental Coverage Needed to Confront Health Crisis.” Retrieved from: www.medicareadvocacy.org/new-reportexpanded-dental-coverage-needed-to-confront-health-crisis/.
