In the year 2000, more than 125 million Americans were without dental insurance, and the numbers have continued to rise. Even individuals who possessed some form of dental insurance were often underinsured for procedures like oral surgery. Tooth decay remains the most common treatable oral disease in the United States. Part of the reason for this malaise is the fact that oral health was not integrated seamlessly into most state and Federal health policies for many years.
While the affluent have the means to purchase comprehensive dental coverage, the poor and underprivileged suffer as they do not have the financial means to pay for proper dental treatment. Children from low-income families are rendered the most vulnerable by this disparity: children from low income families are five times more likely to develop easily treatable oral diseases than children from high-income families.
In the United States, the most disadvantaged are socio-economic groups that neither have the financial means nor the access to quality dental treatment. These high-risk groups are those living below the poverty line—the disabled, the homeless, elderly individuals on welfare, people with diseases such as HIV, as well as ethnic and cultural minorities.
In 2000, the first General Surgeon’s report on oral health in the United States stressed the need to resolve oral health disparities in the nation.
Sadly, national expenditure on oral health has actually shrunk since the 1970s from 6.4 percent of total health expenditure in 1970 to just 4.6 percent in 2000. Thankfully, the federal government has begun implementing health care reforms that will enable more families to visit their Colorado Springs family dentist for immediate treatment.The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010. The Act aims to introduce a more comprehensive health insurance program and curtail some of the worst abuses of insurance companies. These reforms will bring feasible dental coverage to millions of underinsured Americans, enabling individuals from lower socio-economic groups to receive access to preventive dental treatment from a Colorado Springs family dentist.
These nationwide health care reforms will enable consumers to compare prices and purchase dental insurance plans in a standardized system. While the reformed system will continue to preserve private health insurance, more subsidies will be provided to enable the underprivileged to buy dental insurance. This will ensure that even the poor can receive treatment from a cosmetic dentist Colorado Springs residents trust.
If you have questions, please visit us at www.pinecreekdental.com for complete details and answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment