Georgia lawmakers on Tuesday discussed concerns about low- andmiddle-income families' access to dental coverage after the state lastfall shifted nearly one million Medicaid and PeachCare beneficiaries to "care management organizations," Morris/Augusta Chronicle reports. PeachCare is Georgia's version of SCHIP.
Beneficiarieswere shifted to care management organizations, which are similar toHMOs, in an effort to reduce costs. However, one of the three companiesoperating the plans has decided to terminate its contract with a dentalprovider with several offices in the western region of the state, andtwo of the plans are considering terminating contracts with a mobiledental lab that operates in counties throughout Georgia.
Georgia Health Insurance
Lawmakersalso are concerned that the plans have stopped accepting new dentistsin their networks and by complaints that plans too frequently changethe terms of agreements with existing dentists, according to Morris/Chronicle.State Sen. Greg Goggans (R), chair of the panel that controls statehealth care funding, said, "If we're talking about a problem withaccess, why would we limit the number of dentists?"
Kent Jenkins -- senior vice president for communications for AmeriGroup,one of the companies operating the organizations -- said, "The demandfor dental care has been much higher than the state or anybodyanticipated," adding that prices for dental care in Georgia are muchhigher than what companies expected when they started the plans nearlya year ago. Jenkins also said the company is not rejecting dentistsoutright but is being careful in establishing the terms for dentistswho would join the network (Larrabee, Morris/Augusta Chronicle, 8/29).
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