© 2017 American Dental Association All Rights Reserved.
April 2017
Medicaid Fee-For-Service Reimbursement
Rates for Child and Adult Dental Care
Services for all States, 2016
Authors: Niodita Gupta, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.; Cassandra Yarbrough,
M.P.P.; Marko Vujicic, Ph.D.; Andrew Blatz, M.S.; Brittany Harrison, M.A.
Introduction
Low-income children and adults are subject to different dental safety nets. States are
required to provide dental benefits to children, who are covered by Medicaid and the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but providing adult dental benefits is optional.
1
Increased enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP led to a historic low of 11 percent of children
lacking dental benefits in 2014, the most recent year data are available.
2
There has also
been a steady increase in dental care utilization among children enrolled in Medicaid and
CHIP over the past fifteen years.
3
Low-income adults have not experienced similar gains. In
2014, the latest year for which we have data since Medicaid expansion under the Affordable
Care Act, 54 percent of Medicaid-enrolled adults lived in states that provide adult dental
benefits in their Medicaid programs.
2
However, 35.2 percent of adults in the U.S. do not
have any form of dental coverage.
2
A key issue for Medicaid is having a sufficient number of providers willing to participate.
Research shows that a variety of factors limit the number of dentists that accept Medicaid,
including high rates of cancelled appointments among Medicaid enrollees, low
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Key Messages
Wisconsin, Washington and California had the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rates for
both adult and child dental care services among states that provide dental services via
fee-for-service.
There is considerable variation across states in Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement
rates.
Research Brief
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reimbursement rates, low compliance with
recommended treatment, and cumbersome
administrative procedures.
4
In terms of reimbursement
rates, numerous studies illustrate a statistically
significant positive relationship between Medicaid
reimbursement rates and dental care utilization among
publicly insured children
5-7
as well as dentist
participation in Medicaid.
6,8
In this research brief, we analyze Medicaid
reimbursement rates for dental care services in all
states and the District of Columbia for 2016.
Results
Table 1 describes Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS)
reimbursement relative to fees charged by dentists and
private dental insurance reimbursement. Medicaid FFS
reimbursement, on average, is 49.4 percent of fees
charged by dentists for children and 37.2 percent for
adults. Medicaid FFS reimbursement, on average, is
61.8 percent of private dental insurance
reimbursement for children and 46.1 percent for adults.
Private dental insurance reimbursement is, on
average, 80.5 percent of fees charged by dentists for
children and 78.6 percent for adults.
Figure 1 illustrates Medicaid FFS reimbursement as a
percentage of fees charged by dentists for child dental
services. Delaware (82.3 percent), Alaska (65.6
percent), Arkansas (63.0 percent), North Dakota (62.4
percent), and South Dakota (61.1 percent) have the
highest Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates relative to
fees charged by dentists while California (30.8
percent), Wisconsin (32.1 percent), Washington (32.5
percent), Iowa (40.8 percent), and Hawaii (41.6
percent) have the lowest.
Figure 2 illustrates Medicaid FFS reimbursement as a
percentage of private dental insurance reimbursement
for child dental services. Delaware (98.4 percent),
Maryland (79.3 percent), Utah (75.3 percent),
Arkansas (75.2 percent), and Massachusetts (74.1
percent) have the highest Medicaid FFS
reimbursement rates relative to private dental
insurance reimbursement rates while Wisconsin (36.4
percent), California (38.7 percent), Washington (40.4
percent), Maine (49.8 percent), and Iowa (49.8
percent) have the lowest.
Figure 3 illustrates private dental insurance
reimbursement as a percentage of fees charged by
dentists for child dental services. Alaska (93.0
percent), Wyoming (92.7 percent), South Dakota (92.4
percent), Oregon (92.4 percent), and North Dakota
(91.8 percent) have the highest rates relative to fees
charged by dentists while New York (55.5 percent),
Maryland (68.8 percent), Pennsylvania (70.0 percent),
Utah (71.5 percent), and Kentucky (72.7 percent) have
the lowest.
Figure 4 illustrates Medicaid FFS reimbursement as a
percentage of fees charged by dentists for adult dental
services in states with extensive adult dental benefits
within their Medicaid programs. Alaska (59.4 percent),
North Dakota (59.0 percent), Montana (56.9 percent),
North Carolina (43.7 percent), and Iowa (40.4 percent)
have the highest Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates
relative to fees charged by dentists while Rhode Island
(25.5 percent), Washington (25.8 percent), Wisconsin
(27.1 percent), Connecticut (27.3 percent), and
California (34.3 percent) have the lowest.
Figure 5 illustrates Medicaid FFS reimbursement as a
percentage of private dental insurance reimbursement
for adult dental services in states with extensive adult
dental benefits within their Medicaid programs. North
Dakota (66.5 percent), Alaska (63.2 percent), Montana
(62.0 percent), North Carolina (52.9 percent), and
Massachusetts (49.4 percent) have the highest
Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates relative to private
dental insurance reimbursement rates while Wisconsin
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(31.4 percent), Washington (32.4 percent), Rhode
Island (33.7 percent), Connecticut (34.2 percent), and
California (43.8 percent) have the lowest.
Figure 6 replicates Figure 3, but for adult dental
services. Wyoming (94.3 percent), Alaska (94.0
percent), Montana (91.7 percent), South Dakota (91.4
percent), and North Dakota (88.7 percent) have the
highest private dental insurance reimbursement rates
relative to fees charged by dentists while New York
(51.4 percent), Maryland (66.0 percent), Pennsylvania
(67.2 percent), District of Columbia (67.7 percent), and
Utah (70.1 percent) have the lowest.
Discussion
In our view, we have the most up-to-date,
comprehensive, and scientifically sound analysis of
Medicaid FFS reimbursement for dental care services
in the United States. As noted in our methods section,
our analysis has several important shortcomings,
which all stem from data limitations. Most notably, for
states with managed care programs for Medicaid
dental care services, there is no publicly available
source of data for reimbursement rates. The managed
care “data void” continues to be a limiting factor for
researchers, and we continue to urge state
policymakers to push for data transparency.
While our analysis in this research brief is descriptive,
there are some important conclusions that can be
drawn. First, the lowest Medicaid FFS reimbursement
for both adult and child dental care services tend to be
found in the same states: Wisconsin, Washington and
California. Second, there is considerable variation
across states in Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates.
Third, there is considerable variation across states in
the private dental insurance “discount” rate.
Medicaid reimbursement rates, in part, determine the
success of Medicaid programs. Research has shown
that adjusting Medicaid payment rates closer to
“market” levels in conjunction with other reforms has a
significantly positive effect on access to dental care.
7
For example, the Medicaid program in Connecticut
increased dental reimbursement rates to the 70th
percentile of private dental insurance rates in mid-2008
and implemented a case management program to
reduce appointment cancellations. This led to a
considerable increase in provider participation, access
to dental care, and dental care use among Medicaid-
enrolled children.
8
Maryland’s Medicaid program
increased dental care reimbursement, carved Medicaid
dental services out of managed care,
9
increased the
Medicaid dental provider network, improved customer
services for providers and patients, streamlined
credentialing, and created a missed appointment
tracker over the past decade.
10
During this time,
Maryland has seen one of the largest increases in
dental care use among Medicaid-enrolled children of
any state.
11,12
The Texas Medicaid program increased
dental reimbursement by more than 50 percent in
September 2007, implemented loan forgiveness
programs for dentists who agreed to practice in
underserved areas, and allocated more funds to dental
clinics in underserved communities.
13
By 2010, dental
care use among Medicaid-enrolled children in Texas
had increased so much that it actually exceeded the
rate among children with commercial dental
insurance.
14
The experiences of Connecticut, Maryland
and Texas illustrate the impact of “enabling conditions”
— reimbursement closer to market rates, patient and
provider outreach, streamlined administrative
procedures, patient navigators, enhanced incentives in
underserved areas — on provider participation and,
ultimately, access to dental care.
The Health Policy Institute is pursuing additional
research based on the data summarized in this
research brief. We aim to answer questions about the
impact of Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates on
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dentist participation and dental care use among
Medicaid enrollees. We will also compare Medicaid
reimbursement rates provided to dentists to those
provided to physicians.
Table 1: Summary of Reimbursement Rates, 2016
Medicaid fee-for-service
reimbursement relative to fees
charged by dentists
Medicaid fee-for-service
reimbursement relative to private
dental insurance reimbursement
Private dental insurance
reimbursement relative
to fees charged by
dentists
Child dental
services
49.4% 61.8% 80.5%
Adult dental
services
37.2% 46.1% 78.6%
Source: HPI analysis of Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement data collected from state Medicaid agencies, FAIR Health, and
Truven Health MarketScan® Research Database. Note: For child dental services, this table provides the average across 50 states and
Washington, D.C. For adult dental services, this table provides the average across 16 states with an extensive Medicaid adult dental
benefit for the Medicaid FFS reimbursement relative to fees charged by dentists and Medicaid FFS reimbursement relative to private
dental insurance reimbursement. For adult dental services, this tables provides the average across 50 states and Washington, D.C. for
the private dental insurance reimbursement relative to fees charged by dentists.
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Figure 1: Medicaid Fee-For-Service Reimbursement as a Percentage of Fees Charged by Dentists, Child
Dental Services, 2016
Source: HPI analysis of Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement data collected from state Medicaid agencies and FAIR Health. FFS
versus managed care designation primarily based on analysis by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Note: Some
states enroll only certain segments of Medicaid enrollees in managed care programs, or provide certain services through managed
care programs. These states are denoted by *.
30.7%
31.1%
31.3%
31.4%
34.6%
35.6%
36.8%
39.3%
42.1%
43.2%
44.4%
45.3%
46.6%
47.4%
48.5%
48.8%
54.1%
55.6%
55.8%
60.7%
65.3%
67.4%
77.9%
30.8%
32.1%
32.5%
40.8%
41.6%
43.6%
44.6%
45.3%
45.8%
46.2%
46.4%
46.5%
49.9%
51.0%
51.7%
53.8%
54.5%
56.2%
57.3%
58.4%
59.4%
59.7%
60.7%
61.1%
62.4%
63.0%
65.6%
82.3%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
MI
MN
MS
RI
OR
FL
OH
MO
IL
CO
NY
PA
NM
GA
NJ
KS
AZ
TX
TN
DC
NV
WV
KY
CA
WI*
WA
IA
HI
NC
ME
SC
OK
NE
VA
ID
VT
NH
AL
UT
MD
IN*
MT
LA
MA
WY
CT
SD
ND
AR
AK
DE
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Figure 2: Medicaid Fee-For-Service Reimbursement as a Percentage of Private Dental Insurance
Reimbursement, Child Dental Services, 2016
Source: HPI analysis of Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement data collected from state Medicaid agencies and Truven Health
MarketScan® Research Database. FFS versus managed care designation primarily based on analysis by the Kaiser Commission on
Medicaid and the Uninsured. Note: Some states enroll only certain segments of Medicaid enrollees in managed care programs, or
provide only certain services through managed care programs. These states are denoted by *.
37.5%
37.5%
38.2%
38.3%
40.8%
46.6%
46.8%
50.0%
52.5%
55.7%
58.9%
59.3%
60.8%
62.2%
64.8%
71.0%
72.1%
73.8%
79.9%
82.3%
87.7%
85.1%
107.1%
36.4%
38.7%
40.4%
49.8%
49.8%
50.3%
51.7%
52.4%
56.0%
56.6%
57.8%
59.0%
62.4%
63.1%
63.3%
64.4%
66.1%
67.9%
69.2%
70.1%
70.5%
72.4%
72.5%
74.1%
75.2%
75.3%
79.3%
98.4%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%
OR
MS
MN
MI
RI
FL
OH
MO
IL
CO
NM
GA
NJ
KS
PA
TN
TX
AZ
NY
DC
NV
WV
KY
WI*
CA
WA
ME
IA
NC
SC
HI
NH
VT
ID
NE
OK
MT
VA
WY
SD
ND
IN*
AL
AK
CT
LA
MA
AR
UT
MD
DE
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Figure 3: Private Dental Insurance Reimbursement as a Percentage of Fees Charged by Dentists, Child
Dental Services, 2016
Source: HPI analysis of Truven Health MarketScan® Research Database and FAIR Health.
55.5%
68.8%
70.0%
71.5%
72.7%
73.2%
73.3%
73.4%
73.7%
73.8%
74.4%
76.3%
76.9%
77.1%
77.5%
78.4%
78.6%
78.6%
78.6%
78.7%
79.0%
79.2%
79.4%
79.5%
79.8%
80.0%
80.0%
80.1%
80.3%
80.4%
80.5%
80.5%
81.2%
81.3%
82.0%
83.4%
83.6%
83.8%
83.9%
86.6%
87.5%
88.0%
88.3%
89.6%
90.8%
91.0%
91.8%
92.4%
92.4%
92.7%
93.0%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
NY
MD
PA
UT
KY
AZ
VA
OK
DC
AL
NV
FL
RI
TX
CO
NE
TN
KS
MO
OH
NM
WV
HI
CA
NJ
GA
MI
IL
MA
ID
WA
LA
IN
MN
IA
MS
DE
AR
CT
NC
SC
WI
VT
ME
MT
NH
ND
OR
SD
WY
AK
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Figure 4: Medicaid Fee-For-Service Reimbursement as a Percentage of Fees Charged by Dentists, Adult
Dental Services, 2016
Source: HPI analysis of Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement data collected from state Medicaid agencies and FAIR Health. FFS
versus managed care designation primarily based on analysis by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Note: Some
states enroll only certain segments of Medicaid enrollees in managed care programs, or provide only certain services through
managed care programs. These states are denoted by *.
Figure 5: Medicaid Fee-For-Service Reimbursement as a Percentage of Private Dental Insurance
Reimbursement, Adult Dental Services, 2016
Source: HPI analysis of Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement data collected from state Medicaid agencies and Truven Health
MarketScan® Research Database. FFS versus managed care designation primarily based on analysis by the Kaiser Commission on
Medicaid and the Uninsured. Note: Some states enroll only certain segments of Medicaid enrollees in managed care programs, or
provide only certain services through managed care programs. These states are denoted by *.
16.5%
29.4%
34.0%
34.7%
42.5%
25.5%
25.8%
27.1%
27.3%
34.3%
38.7%
40.4%
43.7%
56.9%
59.0%
59.4%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
NJ
OR
NY
OH
NM
RI
WA
WI*
CT
CA
MA*
IA
NC
MT
ND
AK
21.6%
33.2%
45.7%
52.9%
66.2%
31.4%
32.4%
33.7%
34.2%
43.8%
49.1%
49.4%
52.9%
62.0%
63.2%
66.5%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
NJ
OR
OH
NM
NY
WI*
WA
RI
CT
CA
IA
MA*
NC
MT
AK
ND
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Figure 6: Private Dental Insurance Reimbursement as a Percentage of Fees Charged by Dentists, Adult
Dental Services, 2016
Source: HPI analysis of Truven Health MarketScan® Research Database and FAIR Health.
51.4%
66.0%
67.2%
67.7%
70.1%
70.9%
71.6%
72.0%
72.4%
72.6%
73.5%
74.0%
74.9%
74.9%
75.7%
75.7%
76.0%
76.0%
76.4%
76.5%
76.5%
77.2%
77.7%
77.9%
77.9%
78.0%
78.3%
78.3%
78.4%
79.7%
79.9%
79.9%
80.3%
80.4%
80.6%
81.1%
81.3%
82.2%
82.6%
82.6%
86.2%
86.2%
86.8%
87.3%
87.6%
88.5%
88.7%
91.4%
91.7%
94.0%
94.3%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
NY
MD
PA
DC
UT
KY
AZ
VA
AL
FL
OK
NE
NV
TX
CO
RI
OH
IL
MO
MN
NJ
TN
LA
KS
WV
ID
MI
CA
MA
WA
IN
CT
NM
DE
HI
AR
GA
IA
MS
NC
WI
VT
ME
SC
NH
OR
ND
SD
MT
AK
WY
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Table 2: List of Procedures and Corresponding Weights for Child Dental Services
CDT Procedure Code Weight
D0120 - Periodic oral evaluation - established patient 25.614%
D1120 - Prophylaxis - child 25.125%
D1110 - Prophylaxis - adult 14.113%
D1208 - Topical application of fluoride – excluding varnish 9.010%
D1351 - Sealant - per tooth 7.280%
D0272 - Bitewings - two radiographic images 6.340%
D0274 - Bitewings - four radiographic images 5.561%
D1206 - Topical application of fluoride varnish 3.234%
D0220 - Intraoral - periapical first radiographic image 2.218%
D0230 - Intraoral - periapical each additional radiographic image 1.505%
Source: HPI analysis of Truven Health MarketScan® Research Database.
Table 3: List of Procedures and Corresponding Weights for Adult Dental Services
CDT Procedure Code Weight
D1110 - Prophylaxis - adult 36.856%
D0120 - Periodic oral evaluation – established patient 20.065%
D0274 - Bitewings – four radiographic images 9.751%
D2392 - Resin-based composite – two surfaces, posterior 8.469%
D4910 - Periodontal maintenance 6.347%
D2391 - Resin-based composite – one surface, posterior 6.108%
D0140 - Limited oral evaluation – problem focused 3.777%
D0150 - Comprehensive oral evaluation – new or established patient 3.578%
D0220 - Intraoral - periapical first radiographic image 3.535%
D0230 - Intraoral – periapical each additional radiographic image 1.515%
Source: HPI analysis of Truven Health MarketScan® Research Database.
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Data & Methods
We collected 2016 Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS)
reimbursement rate data from state Medicaid program
webpages on March 18 and 20, 2017. For some of the
states that had updated their reimbursement rates for
2017, we used 2017 reimbursement rate data. Data for
child dental care services were collected for all 50
states and D.C. Data for adult dental care services
were collected for states that provided extensive dental
benefits to Medicaid-enrolled adults in 2016 (AK, CA,
CT, IA, MA, MT,NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, RI,
WA, WI).
15
Many state Medicaid programs contract with a
managed care provider and do not pay dental care
providers via the publicly available FFS schedule. To
our knowledge, managed care reimbursement rate
data are not publicly available in any state and we
were not able to include such data in our analysis. We
focused solely on Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates,
understanding that in many states, this is not how most
dental care is reimbursed. According to the Kaiser
Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Medicaid
programs in 23 states contracted with managed care
organizations for children’s dental care services (AZ,
CO, DC, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV, NJ,
NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, WV) and in 15
states for adult dental care services (AZ, CO, DC, FL,
IL, KY, MN, MS, MO, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA) in
2015.
16
In some cases, however, certain dental care
services are covered under a managed care program
while others are covered under FFS. Two states have
such arrangement for dental services for children (IN,
WI) and four states have such arrangement for dental
services for adults (IN, MA, MI, WI).
16
The lack of
transparent, publicly available data on reimbursement
rates within managed care programs presented a
significant limitation to our analysis. While Medicaid
FFS reimbursement rates are intended to be a
benchmark or guide for managed care organizations, it
is unclear whether this happens in practice. As a result,
we distinguish FFS states and managed care states in
our analysis.
We obtained private dental insurance reimbursement
rate data for each state and D.C. for 2015 from the
Truven Health MarketScan® Research Databases
(Truven). Truven contains medical and dental claims
and enrollment data from beneficiaries of large
employer medical and dental plans across the United
States, including claims from a variety of FFS,
preferred provider organization (PPO), and capitated
dental plans. Truven includes the amount paid to the
dentist for various procedures as well as the amount
paid out of pocket by the beneficiary. In other words, it
includes total payments to dentists. In 2015, there were
8.8 million people with private dental insurance
included in Truven. Based on the latest data from the
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS),
17
we
estimate that Truven captures about 5.4 percent of the
private dental insurance market in the United States.
Because our Medicaid reimbursement rate data are for
2016, we inflated the Truven reimbursement rate data
to 2016 levels using the all-items Consumer Price
Index.
18
We obtained data on fees charged by dentists for each
state and D.C. for 2015 from the FAIR Health Dental
Benchmark Module (FAIR Health).
19
FAIR Health
provides data on the non-discounted amount charged
by dentists for various procedures before network
discounts are applied. In 2015, there were 54.7 million
people with private dental insurance included in FAIR
Health.
19
Based on the latest MEPS data,
17
we
estimate that FAIR Health captures about 33.5 percent
of the private dental insurance market in the United
States. We also inflated the 2015 FAIR Health charges
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data to 2016 levels using the all-items Consumer Price
Index.
18
We constructed two measures of Medicaid FFS
reimbursement: (1) Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates
relative to the fees charged by dentists, and (2)
Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates relative to
reimbursement rates through private dental insurance.
These measures express Medicaid FFS
reimbursement relative to “market” rates. We also
constructed a measure of private dental insurance
reimbursement relative to the fees charged by dentists.
Nationwide, 97.6 percent of dentists report accepting
some form of private dental insurance and, on
average, such payments account for 41.5 percent of
gross billings in dental offices.
20
Private dental
insurance is a significant source of dental care
financing in the U.S., accounting for 47 percent of total
dental care expenditures in 2015.
21
The analysis for child dental care services is based on
the top ten most common procedures among children
with private dental insurance as identified in previous
research (see Table 2).
22
These ten procedures
accounted for 40.3 percent of the total of billings and
74.2 percent of the total number of procedures among
children with private dental insurance in 2015 within
the Truven data set. We consider children ages 0 to
18.
The analysis for adult dental care services is based on
the top ten most common procedures among adults
with private dental insurance as identified in previous
research (see Table 3).
23
These ten procedures
accounted for 39.2 percent of the total billings and 73.7
percent of the total number of procedures among
adults with private dental insurance in 2015 within the
Truven data set. We consider adults ages 19 to 64.
We computed the weighted average of the
reimbursement rates for the ten most common
procedures to create an index. The weights for each of
the ten procedures were calculated as the share of
total billings represented by each procedure. The
weights were calculated separately for child dental
care services and adult dental care services. The
weights are summarized in Tables 2 and 3. The
Medicaid FFS reimbursement rate index, the fees
charged by dentists index, and the private dental
insurance reimbursement rate index were constructed
using this common weighting scheme.
We divided the Medicaid FFS reimbursement index by
the fees charged by dentist index to calculate our first
outcome of interest: Medicaid reimbursement relative
to fees charged by dentists. We divided the Medicaid
FFS reimbursement index by the private dental
insurance reimbursement index to calculate our
second outcome of interest: Medicaid reimbursement
relative to private dental insurance reimbursement. We
also calculated private dental insurance reimbursement
relative to fees charged by dentists to estimate the
average “discount” rate off of dentist charges. We did
this separately for child and adult dental care services.
It is important to note that previous research shows no
substantial differences in results if the indices were
created by weighting reimbursement rates and charges
by their share of the total number of procedures
performed versus total billings.
24
There are several limitations to our analysis. First, as
noted, our Medicaid reimbursement rates are based on
FFS schedules. In some states, these are less relevant
because most care is delivered through managed care
arrangements. To account for this, we present
managed care states separately from FFS states,
according to the best publicly available information.
Second, our reimbursement indices are based on a
limited set of procedures. While ideally all procedures
would be included, this is not feasible given our interest
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in comparability across states. Because our procedure
lists capture three quarters of the total volume of dental
procedures, we feel we struck an appropriate balance
between comprehensiveness and feasibility.
Third, our weighting scheme is based on the mix of
dental care services for adults and children with private
dental insurance. There are likely differences in the
relevant importance of various procedures between the
Medicaid and privately insured populations.
25,26
Unfortunately, we do not have access to Medicaid
claims data in order to assess these differences.
However, several Medicaid colleagues and
researchers have indicated the procedure mix within
Medicaid and privately insured populations will be
comparable, particularly for children. Moreover, our list
of the top ten most common procedures is quite
comparable to published research focusing on
Medicaid populations.
27-29
Again, we feel we struck an
appropriate balance between feasibility and complexity
in our analysis.
Fourth, we were not able to distinguish PPO, HMO,
and other types of plans within our private dental
insurance reimbursement rate data. It is likely that
reimbursement rates to dentists differ systematically
across these types of private dental insurance plans.
We have no way of assessing this with the Truven
data, and we assume simply that the mix of PPO,
HMO, and other types of plans are representative of
the market. According to the National Association of
Dental Plans, in 2015, PPO plans accounted for 82
percent of the private dental insurance market and
HMO plans accounted for 7 percent.
30
Fifth, there may be some inconsistency in how dentists
submit charges data on private dental insurance
claims, which could lead to measurement error. FAIR
Health’s dental module provides fee data based on
“the non-discounted fees charged by providers before
network discounts are applied.” In theory, this should
be true, non-discounted fees. However, based on
provider feedback, providers often submit the fees they
expect to be paid rather than their true, non-discounted
fees. We have no basis to evaluate this empirically and
simply raise this as a potential limitation. An alternative
data source for market fees would be HPI’s annual fee
survey that collects full, undiscounted fees from a
national sample of dentists.
31
We did not use these
data because they are not available at the state level.
Disclaimer
Research for this article is based upon the data
compiled and maintained by FAIR Health, Inc. and
Truven Health Analytics™. HPI is solely responsible for
the research and conclusions reflected in this article.
FAIR Health, Inc. and Truven Health Analytics™ are
not responsible for the conduct of the research or for
any of the opinions expressed in this article.
This Research Brief was published by the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute.
211 E. Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611
312.440.2928
For more information on products and services, please visit our website, ADA.org/HPI. Follow us on Twitter @ADAHPI.
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27
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28
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29
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Suggested Citation
Gupta N, Yarbrough C, Vujicic M, Blatz A, Harrison B. Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement rates for child and adult
dental care services for all states, 2016. Health Policy Institute Research Brief. American Dental Association. April
2017. Available from: http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Science%20and%20Research/HPI/Files/HPIBrief_0417_1.pdf.