Access to Care” Under Medicaid Means Time to Obtain Treatment, Not Distance to the Provider As Measured by State Third Party Administrator DentaQuest
BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, May 20, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — The American Alliance for Dental Insurance Quality (AADIQ) has released on its website an important letter from the Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) addressing critical “access to care” issues within the Massachusetts Medicaid system. The letter, backed by nine prominent dental organizations, highlights serious non-compliance by DentaQuest, MassHealth’s third-party administrator, with federal access to care requirements for Medicaid children.
The letter, spearheaded by Dr. Mouhab Rizkallah, President of AADIQ, and signed by leaders such as Dr. Abe Abdulwaheed, President of the Massachusetts Dental Society, Dr. Elon Joffre, President of the Massachusetts Association of Orthodontists, Dr. Derek Zurn, President of the Massachusetts Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, as well as Dr. Rizkallah, outlines significant flaws in DentaQuest’s network adequacy analysis.
Dr. Rizkallah emphasized, “When complied with, children’s Medicaid is the finest insurance program in the world. Sadly, DentaQuest mishandles many provisions of the Medicaid Act, exposing programs such as the Massachusetts Medicaid agency to federal law violations. The result is that poor kids struggle to find dental care. There is no excuse for this legal noncompliance, and this is consistent with many other patient-harming behaviors we have found DentaQuest responsible for.”