Where can I find low-cost dental care?

Unemployed or work but earn income below set levels?  One vital resource to check is Medicaid.  Equally important for families including children up to age 19 is the related program Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Generally Medicaid does not charge insurance premiums in most states.  Roughly 15 states offer limited dental benefits and further approximately 15 states cover extensive dental treatments.

Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIPS are administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  Information on these three federally funded programs follows.

Medicare is generally for people who are retired or have specific disabilities.  The dental coverage  provided by Medicare is particularly limited in nature.  For example, dentures and most routine dental care are not covered under the plan.

Medicaid is generally for people who have income below a set amount.  This is a state run program so eligibility and benefits will vary from state to state.

Some states do include dental benefits for people meeting the income requirements.  Some states provide quite comprehensive coverage for people over age 21 while other states cover limited emergency dental services.

Significantly, dental services for most people under age 21 are covered under Medicaid.

CHIP is generally for children meeting income criteria up to age 19 and covers more than 7 million children.    CHIP provides coverage to U.S. citizens and eligible immigrants.

This programs includes health care coverage and in a majority of states dental services to qualifying children.  Each state runs its own program and must be contacted for individual coverage information.

To learn more about low-cost dental care from these programs contact CMS (1-800-MEDICARE).  They can help describe the available coverage and direct you to find out more about your state program.