Kentucky rises to No. 3 in diabetes, increasing concern about removing dental and vision coverage from basic Medicaid
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2016
Kentucky rises to No. 3 in diabetes, increasing concern about removing dental and vision coverage from basic Medicaid
Gov. Matt Bevin’s plan for Medicaid “would have a profound effect in a state with the nation’s third-highest rate of diabetes,” The Courier-Journal reports, because it would remove dental and vision care from the regular package of benefits.
Reporter Deborah Yetter cites a Louisville optometrist who often discovers diabetes during routine eye exams, and an Eastern Kentucky dentist who “is seeing many more patients thanks to Kentucky’s 2014 expansion of Medicaid that added coverage for those he describes as the ‘working poor’.”
“Dr. Bill Collins, a dentist and president of the Kentucky Dental Association, sees many patients with diabetes, which can worsen oral health,” Yetter writes. “Some patients are in such bad shape they must have all of their teeth extracted” because, he said, they have gone “so many years without care and without insurance.” (MORE)
