Politics As Usual
Shining a Light on Power and Policy
Tom Shine covers congressional politics for ABC News.
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Death by Tooth Decay
February 28, 2007 10:43 AM
12 YEAR OLD DEAMONTE DRIVER DIED OF TOOTH DECAY
on saturday night he called his mother from his hospital bed and said, "make sure you pray before you go to sleep." by 6am sunday morning 12 year old deamonte driver was dead.
he was not the victim of bloody gun violence or cancer. mary otto writing in this morning's WASHINGTON POST says a ROUTINE $80 TOOTH EXTRACTION might have saved him -- "IF his mother had been insured -- IF his family had not lost its medicaid -- IF medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find -- IF his mother wasn't so focused on finding a dentist to take care of his brother's 6 rotted teeth."
otto says by the time deamonte got the attention he needed, the bacteria from the abscess in his tooth had spread to his brain which required 2 operations and 6 weeks in the hospital.
to remove the tooth would have cost $80. according to the post story, hospital care for driver will now total at least $250,000 and the KID IS DEAD!
otto says the overlooked concern in the debate over universal health care is DENTAL CARE.
"in spite of such innovations as the fluoridation of drinking water, TOOTH DECAY is still the SINGLE MOST COMMON CHILDHOOD DISEASE NATIONWIDE, 5 TIMES AS COMMON AS ASTHMA. POOR children are more than twice as likely to have cavities as their more affluent peers BUT FAR LESS likely to get treatment.
the NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES says the federal government requires states to provide dental coverage through medicaid BUT THE SHORTAGE OF DENTISTS WHO WILL TREAT INDIGENT PATIENTS REMAINS A MAJOR BARRIER TO CARE.
so 12 year deamonte driver is dead--another shining example of the rotten health care system in the wealthiest country in the world!
February 28, 2007 in Weblogs | Permalink | User Comments (2)
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There is a reason dentists don't accept medicaid - what medicaid is willing to spend for dental care does not, in many cases, cover the cost of providing the care. In addition, many dentists want to restore teeth, which is the healthier option. However, since optimal dental health is not a priority of Medicaid, extractions are the order of the day. That is the result of government medicine, poor standard of care.
Posted by: P W | Mar 1, 2007 12:00:27 AM
The sad thing is that most poor people in America have insurance - Medicaid. But American dentists refuse to treat people with Medicaid or other low reimbursing government subsidized insurance.
It's a mystery to me that dental schools and dental education can be government subsidized and the government doesn't require dentists to treat a certain number of low-income people a year.
Most dentists also won't work and/or live in rural or low-income inner cities and leave many people without dental care.
The problem is that organized dentistry lobbies against any dental or healthcare group that tries to fill the void lest it infringe on their lucrative monopoly.
Posted by: nyscof | Mar 1, 2007 8:12:03 AM
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