Richmond, Virginia – As the state of Virginia addresses the current scarcity of dentists willing to serve Medicaid-enrolled and uninsured patients, an award of $200,000 designated for five dental clinics is expected to mitigate gaps in service within areas largely underserved.
The five beneficiaries include New Horizons Healthcare based in Roanoke, Johnson Health Center in Amherst County, Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Martinsville/Henry County Community Dental Clinic, and Southern Dominion Health System located in Lunenburg County.
These clinics fall under the category of dental safety-net clinics, receiving federal support to primarily deliver free or low-cost dental care to uninsured and low-income patients residing in communities with pressing needs.
However, as Virginia Health Care Foundation Executive Director Debbie Oswalt stated, despite these clinics often being the only affordable dental care resource for their patients, financial constraints generally prevent them from offering competitive remunerations to dentists, a significant number of whom opt for private practice.
Addressing the issue, Oswalt said, “The problem is, we don’t have enough dentists and so a lot of dental residents when they graduate have huge amounts of debt. So it makes sense to go where the highest salary is.”
Compounding the issue, Oswalt pointed out, is the wave of early retirements triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a shortage of practicing dentists.
In response to these challenges, the recent financial support, known as the “Sign Up, Pay Down” initiative, is spearheaded by the Virginia Health Care Foundation and the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation. This initiative aims to augment incentives and tackle recruitment difficulties faced by these clinics.
Each clinic is set to receive a recruitment package worth $40,000, comprised of a $20,000 student loan repayment and a $20,000 signing bonus, contingent upon a two-year practice commitment from the hired dentists.
The initiative has already proven fruitful for Southern Dominion Health Services, with CEO April King confirming the recruitment of a dentist, a move she perceives will benefit the primarily rural community served by her clinic in Lunenburg.
Emphasizing the significance of dental care for overall health, Oswalt mentioned that these awards are part of broader efforts to enhance dental care accessibility for Virginia residents. Over recent years, Virginia expanded dental care benefits for certain Medicaid enrollees and increased the reimbursement rates for dentists treating Medicaid patients.
However, as Oswalt states, “One of the best things that Virginia ever did was to have this Medicaid dental benefit for adults. But it’s only so good if you don’t have dentists on hand to actually provide the services, and the dental safety net is one of the main providers of Medicaid dental services.”
The awarded funds were generated from contributions made by dental health plan companies United Concordia and DentaQuest, along with a matching contribution from the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation via its dental loan repayment program.
Oswalt commended the collaborative efforts, stating, “The fact that they all have come together to try to solve this problem and help move things forward in this post-pandemic time is really fabulous.”
