Publications

California Healthline

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California Healthline

"California's Medi-Cal dental system is already struggling to serve children and is unprepared for what's to come," said Wendy Lazarus, founder and co-president of The Children's Partnership. "California's kids deserve real access to quality dental care -- not a false promise of it," Lazarus said in a statement accompanying the recent issue brief, "Fix Medi-Cal Dental Coverage: Half of California's Kids Depend On It."

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Huffington Post

Recent changes affecting California's dental care system could worsen access to dental care for hundreds of thousands of children.  In this blog, Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children's Partnership lays out an action plan to strengthen Medi-Cal's dental program for children. "The challenges laid out provide the opportunity for California to strengthen the system for everyone. It will require a lot of cooperation and political will to make these changes. TCP calls on the governor, legislators, and the public to ensure that California's most vulnerable kids will not be lost in the shuffle and left without the dental care they need," says Lazarus.

Our latest report on the dental crisis is available here. 

California's Children, by HSMC 

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New America Media

TCP released a report  on the crisis faced by many families whose children depend on Medi-Cal for their dental care. Jenny Kattlove, the author of the issue brief, is TCP’s Director of Strategic Health Initiatives. 

“The state has said that they feel there are enough dental providers, except for a few small counties … But, the program is not up to par. It can’t currently meet the needs of its enrollees, let alone those of a million new children,” Kattlove says.

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California Healthline

TCP report, Fix Medi-Cal Dental Coverage, highlights that "children currently enrolled in Medi-Cal are not receiving needed dental care. According to the report, nearly half of beneficiaries under age 21 who are enrolled in Denti-Cal -- a Medi-Cal dental program -- did not receive a dental check-up or treatment in 2011. The report found that a major factor in the lack of dental care was that relatively few dentists accept Medi-Cal patients."

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By Jenny Kattlove | January 2013

Medi-Cal’s dental program will soon provide dental services to about 50 percent of California’s children. Yet, the program has proven to be inadequate to meet their needs. This Issue Brief spotlights stories of children enrolled in Medi-Cal trying to access dental care. The Brief highlights the challenges facing Medi-Cal in providing dental care to children, examines the State’s efforts to address these problems, and provides an action plan to help the program serve its growing number of enrollees. 

Download the Issue Brief
Download the Press Statement 

--To read more stories of families who have struggled to access needed dental care for their children, visit Meet the Children Behind the Issue.
--To read about TCP’s efforts to improve the oral health of California’s underserved children, please visit Dental Health Agenda for Children.

DrBicuspid.com

The Children's Partnership (TCP) has released an issue brief and action plan addressing the challenges Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, faces in providing dental care to children in the state. The issue brief also stresses the impact that newly enrolled children will have on the state's strained dental care system.

Download the article here.

"It's a public health issue" according to Jenny Kattlove, Director of Strategic Health Initiatives. "A large number of California children do not have dental coverage at all. About 1.8 million of them in public coverage are not getting the dental care they need. One reason is that the reimbursement rate for dentists is very low, close to the lowest in the nation, and in California there are Medi-Cal administrative barriers providers face.

Download the full article here .

Santa Monica, CA– Today, The Children’s Partnership released an issue brief and action plan addressing the challenges Medi-Cal faces in providing dental care to children in California. The issue brief, Fix Medi-Cal Dental Coverage: Half of California Kids Depend On It, also stresses the impact that newly enrolled children will have on the state’s strained dental care system. “California’s Medi-Cal dental system is already struggling to serve children and is unprepared for what’s to come,” said Wendy Lazarus, Founder & Co-President of The Children’s Partnership. “California’s kids deserve real access to quality dental care—not a false promise of it.” The brief highlights the challenges facing Medi-Cal in providing dental care to children, examines the State’s efforts to address these problems, and provides an action plan to help the program serve its growing number of enrollees. 

Download the full press statement here .