Thanks to Medicare, millions of seniors who might otherwise forgo health care entirely or go bankrupt due to enormous hospital bills can count on affordable medical care during the stage of their life when they are most likely to need it.
However, when it comes to dental care, the massive public health program is leaving seniors in the lurch.
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Traditional Medicare only covers dental care in certain instances, such as when it's related to other services received in a hospital. Medicare Advantage plans offer more help, but many dental experts insist that even that coverage is too limited.
Dr. Judith Jones, a professor of dentistry at Boston University, describes the plans as "loss leaders" in an interview with Kaiser Health News.
"It's meant to attract people. It gets people in but the coverage is really limited," she says.
Medicare's shoddy coverage drives many seniors to pay out-of-pocket for basic dental services. According to Tricia Neuman, director of the Program on Medicare Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, seniors on traditional Medicare plans spent an average of $737 in 2012 for dental care.
Of course, patients with more serious dental needs often pay much more for root canals, implants and other critical services.
Lack of coverage and high prices lead many low-income seniors to avoid the dentist all together.
The problems are similar for those enrolled in Medicaid, depending on what they're in. While every state offers basic dental care to children through Medicaid, many only offer emergency dental care to adults, and eight states offer no dental coverage for adults.
Dental advocates propose adding a dental benefit to Medicare Part B. Seniors would fund the basic dental care by paying an additional premium. They would likely also help cover the cost of major operations, such as crowns and bridges, through co-pays.
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