Western Dental Supports Expansion of Medi-Cal Coverage to Undocumented Children

ORANGE, Calif., June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As a leader in providing oral health care to millions of people residing in California, Western Dental & Orthodontics supports the recent expansion of health care coverage to more than 170,000 undocumented children. When a child seeks medical attention – the last question should be immigration status.

Western Dental, the largest dental provider in California, announced today that it looks forward to providing much needed oral health care to children who were not previously eligible for care. Aligning with the vision of Health4Kids, expanding access to these children will result in healthier families, healthier communities, and should ultimately result in savings to the State. 

The passage of SB 75 makes children under 19 years of age eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal Dental Program (also known as Denti-Cal) benefits regardless of immigration status. The bill allows California to expand its health coverage to 170,000 undocumented immigrant children.

Western Dental is a leading provider of Denti-Cal services in California and serves more patients with these benefits than any other dental provider in the state. Despite California's historically low reimbursement rates, Western Dental has kept its doors open to new and returning Denti-Cal patients at all 160 of its California offices, including the influx of undocumented children expected in the coming months.

"Western Dental has demonstrated a long-standing commitment in treating Denti-Cal patients for nearly 50 years," said Dr. Louis ­­Amendola, DDS, Chief Dental Officer at Western Dental. "It's very important to us that children receive the proper preventive services they need and get timely quality dental care. Undocumented children are no longer forced to seek emergency care under very restricted Medi-Cal coverage and now can get the full-scope coverage they really need."

Denti-Cal is a key component of California's Medi-Cal system, a public benefits program that provides services for low-income individuals and families. Many of these families are concentrated in larger urban areas, but the California Department of Health Care Services estimates about one-sixth of the newly eligible low-income undocumented children live in the agricultural areas of Sacramento and Kern counties. In many of these rural areas, Western Dental is the only dentist in town.

Research by health advocates indicates that the dental problems experienced by many low-income California children are largely preventable. The newly expanded coverage due to the passage of SB 75 is great news for children of all ages. According to Children Now & the Children's Movement of California, children covered by Medicaid are more likely to graduate from high school, attend college, experience fewer emergency room visits, and earn more money as adults.

ABOUT WESTERN DENTAL
Western Dental (with its affiliate Brident Dental & Orthodontics) is one of the nation's largest dental providers and is the leader in accessible, affordable oral health care, serving more than 2 million patient visits annually in more than 200 affiliated clinics throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. Western Dental is a nationwide leader in orthodontic services and last year expanded its network of orthodontists, oral surgeons, pedodontists, periodontists and endodontists, to better service patient needs all within the office. All of Western Dental's services are backed by a unique quality assurance system that electronically monitors all patient visits, treatments, dental staff and clinical performance to enable high-quality care. For more information please visit www.westerndental.com.

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SOURCE Western Dental