Politics As Usual
Shining a Light on Power and Policy
Tom Shine covers congressional politics for ABC News.
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Tooth Decay Death Inspires Action
March 05, 2007 11:28 AM
DEAMONT DRIVER'S DEATH FROM TOOTH DECAY COULD SAVE OTHERS
by the time the 12 year old with a rotten tooth reached the hospital it was already too late. 2 operations and $250,000 couldn't do what a routine dental visit and $80 extraction might have done--save his life.
but deamont's mother didn't have health insurance and her medicaid coverage had lapsed so deamont didn't receive what many children in this country take for granted--routine dental care.
IN A COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS MAKING THEIR TEETH WHITER, parents on medicaid have a hard time finding a dentist who will provide basic dental care for their children. according to the WASHINGTON POST, in the state of maryland, where deamont driver lived, only 900 out of 5,500 dentists accept medicaid.
the article says "low reimbursement rates, bureaucratic hurdles and FRUSTRATIONS WORKING WITH INDIGENT FAMILIES are cited as reasons for low participation."
reporter mary otto's article on deamonte driver shocked 2 senators, ben cardin of maryland and jeff bingaman of new mexico, into introducing THE CHILDREN'S DENTAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT ACT of 2007 which would authorize $40 MILLION to help local communities hire dentists to take care of poor children.
the young boy's death is also expected to help pass a bill already in the works in the state of maryland which would provide $6 MILLION over 3 years to expand public clinics that would provide dental care in poor areas.
otto's article was also given to specialists and contractors who oversee screenings for more than 900,000 poor pre-schoolers each year and dentists locally told the POST that they have been flooded with calls asking for advice and appointments for checkups.
dentist fredrick clark told the paper, "WE NEED TO SEIZE THE MOMENT" while this story is the talk of the town.
March 5, 2007 in Weblogs | Permalink | User Comments (0)
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