What Does the Newly Signed CT Budget Mean for Health?

Now that the governor has signed the budget, it's time to take a closer look at impact. We've talked about the impacts to early childhood briefly, but now we'll take a look at the impact on oral health. 

• The budget would reduce the eligibility cutoff for the Husky A parents program from 150% of the federal poverty level to 133%.  Advocates predict this would end health insurance coverage for 9,500 low-income parents, who would have to buy subsidized insurance on the state's insurance exchange. Health insurance bought through the exchange will not cover dental services, which parents had when covered by Medicaid.
•  Adult non-emergency dental services will have an annual cap of $1000, although medically necessary services or dentures would be obtainable with prior authorization.
•  There will be cost sharing for adults covered by Medicaid. How this will be implemented is to be determined.
•  Over 68,000 people who were receiving help to pay premiums and other out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare will lose those benefits.  This includes anyone with a monthly income over $1005. This means they may have less to spend on dental care, as Medicare does not cover any dental services.

Promoting Dental Health on the Radio and in the Classroom

Did you know October was Dental Hygiene Month? We're reporting on two oral health items that might be of interest to you. 

In October, the radio interview on WICC 600 in Bridgeport featured Mary Boudreau of CT Oral Health Initiative (COHI), discussing dental hygiene month, what a dental hygienist is, National Brush Day (it's November 1), and more. To listen to the full interview, click HERE.

Many early childhood programs take time as part of their curriculum to focus on oral health education. On October 27, the three- and four-year- olds at Sleeping Giant Day Care in Hamden had two visitors and one stuffed kangaroo. 

Two dentists from Yale Dental School, Dr. Judy and Dr. Lauren, talked to the children about brushing their teeth, what kinds of foods are good and bad for their teeth, and how to floss their teeth. They made their lessons into games. One game, the children were given a piece of plastic food, and they had to put the food in the box that would be considered "good" or "bad" for their teeth. The kangaroo toy had teeth that the children could practice brushing. They also tried on surgical masks and gloves that dentists and dental hygienists wear.

"How many times a day do we brush?" asked Dr. Judy. 

"Two times a day," said the children.

"We brush our teeth, tongue and gums," said Dr. Judy.

The Yale dentists visit once a year, said Edie Reichard, Director of Sleeping Giant Day Care in Hamden. 

"I don't think they've missed a year," she said.

The visits provide training for the dental school and helps the child care center meet NAEYC and state requirements. The visit also kicks off a unit the center is starting on dental hygiene. Reichard said they do try to plan these visits around Halloween.

55,775 Home Visits!

The 2017 Homevisiting Yearbook is available and the state profile for Connecticut delves into the numbers of families served, plus other topics including race, ethnicity, caregiver education, child's age, primary language, and insurance status.  Models implemented in Connecticut include: Child First, Early Head Start, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Parents as Teachers. Statewide, 86 local agencies operated at least one of these models. As we push for Congress to re-authorize MIECHV, please share this graphic to help explain how valuable home visiting is.