Senate Unanimously Advances Medicaid Dental Benefit Legislation
Contact Name: Marina Altschiller
Phone: (603) 271-3375
CONCORD – Today, the Senate unanimously voted to advance SB 422, which establishes an adult dental benefit under the state Medicaid program. The bill will now be considered by the Senate Finance Committee.
After the vote, Deputy Democratic Leader Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua) issued the following statement:
“This bill will help New Hampshire’s low-income, frail, elderly, and adults with disabilities enrolled in Medicaid gain access to dental care, a benefit currently only offered to children in New Hampshire. With today’s vote, the state moves closer to joining 35 other states who provide this dental benefit to adult Medicaid recipients. Not only will this benefit improve the health of the adult Medicaid population, but it will also save money upstream in Medicaid on other health treatments. Right now, we spend millions on emergency room costs, emergency extractions—which is the only dental benefit currently available to adults— and other treatments for illnesses caused by poor oral health. This is good policy for the people we represent and good policy for our workforce and economy, and I thank my colleagues for their unanimous support in advancing this bill today.”
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