New Report: 72 Million Adults in the US Lack Dental Insurance, Nearly Three Times the Number Without Health Insurance
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A new report from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health ® reveals that 27% of US adults — an estimated 72 million people — do not have dental insurance, nearly three times the number of adults who lack health insurance (9.5%, or 26 million). The findings, from the latest State of Oral Health Equity in America (SOHEA) survey, underscore a persistent and troubling gap in access to dental care.
Lack of dental insurance puts adults at risk for delayed treatment and worsening oral health, which is closely tied to broader health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and even dementia.
'These findings reinforce the fact that oral health care is too expensive and out of reach for too many families in America,' said Melissa Burroughs, Senior Director of Public Policy at CareQuest Institute. 'Gaps in dental insurance force families to make impossible tradeoffs between things like putting food on the table and getting the care they need — any cuts to the Medicaid program would only make this problem worse. It's time for policy solutions that address our nation's oral health, starting by preserving Medicaid adult dental coverage.'
The report, Out of Pocket: A Snapshot of Adults' Dental and Medical Care Coverage, also finds that:
Adults with lower incomes and education levels are more likely to lack dental insurance. 40% of adults without a high school diploma and 38% of those earning under $30,000 annually are uninsured for dental care.
One-third of adults with Medicare or Medicaid lack dental coverage. Traditional Medicare does not include dental services, and Medicaid adult dental coverage varies widely by state.
More than 80% of adults without health insurance also lack dental insurance.
Nearly one in four adults with dental insurance gained it in the last year, either by changing from a previous insurance plan to a new plan or by enrolling in an insurance plan after being uninsured.
Among adults currently without dental insurance, 12% lost coverage in the past year, disproportionately affecting younger adults and Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic adults.
Despite growing recognition that oral health is essential to overall health, significant policy gaps remain. Medicare does not guarantee dental coverage, Medicaid coverage for adults is optional and inconsistent across states, and marketplace dental plans often lack affordability and accessibility, with no subsidies available.
The SOHEA survey is the largest nationally representative survey focused exclusively on oral health attitudes, behaviors, and experiences among adults. Conducted from March to May 2024 by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, the study reflects the voices of more than 9,000 adults nationwide.
The full report is available here.
About CareQuest Institute for Oral Health ®
CareQuest Institute for Oral Health ® is a national nonprofit championing a more equitable future where every person can reach their full potential through excellent health. We do this through our work in philanthropy, analytics and data insights, health transformation, policy and advocacy, and education, as well as our leadership in dental benefits and innovation advancements. We collaborate with thought leaders, health care providers, patients, and local, state, and federal stakeholders to accelerate oral health care transformation and create a system designed for everyone. To learn more, visit carequest.org and follow us on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fraudulent OB/GYN sentenced to 10 years in prison
CHICAGO — A fraudulent OB/GYN, who pleaded guilty last summer for bilking Medicaid and private insurance, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Dr. Mona Ghosh owned Progressive Women's Healthcare, located in Hoffman Estates, and was accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicaid and other private insurance companies from 2018 to 2022. A total of 17 women spoke during the federal sentencing hearings, which concluded Monday morning after being adjourned on May 29. Several women told stories of how Ghosh charged their insurance companies for visits that didn't happen. Others described the unnecessary tests and procedures she performed. 'I felt like she supported me. In turn, when I'm finding the medical bills coming back for things that never happened, she fed on my vulnerability, on my weakness,' a woman said. Several women shared that they went to Ghosh for a routine pap smear, or cervical cancer screening, and were told results were abnormal. Fearful that they could have cancer, they agreed to get a biopsy. Witnesses said while they were sedated, Ghosh performed other procedures instead, including ones they said have affected their fertility. 17 women share emotional experiences during sentencing of fraudulent OB/GYN Ghosh directed her own employees to submit the fraudulent claims as well. She admitted in the plea agreement that she is accountable for more than $1.5 million. The judge Monday ordered restitution to insurance providers of $1.5 million. Restitution to the victims was ordered in the amount of $605.02. The judge explained that he could only impose restitution to patients based on actual losses for unnecessary and unwanted procedures under specific situations. She has surrendered her medical license and must serve a minimum of two years before being eligible for supervised release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UnitedHealth (UNH) Eyes $1 Billion Exit From Latin America Amid Crisis Fallout
UnitedHealth Group (UNH, Financials) is pursuing a $1 billion divestiture of its Latin American unit Banmedica as the U.S.-based insurer retreats from international markets and works to stabilize its leadership and operations, sources told Reuters. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with UNH. The company has received four non-binding bids for Banmedica, which operates in Chile and Colombia. Interested parties include Acon Investments, Christus Health, Patria Investments (PAX, Financials), and Auna. Binding offers are expected in July. The move follows a series of blows to UnitedHealth, including a surprise CEO ouster, a reported criminal probe into Medicare billing practices, and the December 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Shares are down 40% year to date, including a 25.5% drop in May alone. Banmedica, acquired in 2018, remains profitable with more than $200 million in annual EBITDA and over 2.1 million policyholders. However, it is seen as non-core amid UnitedHealth's renewed U.S.-centric strategy. The group exited Brazil last year and Peru in March, incurring $8.3 billion in charges. The divestiture is being managed by BTG Pactual. UnitedHealth declined to comment. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Georgia's experience raises red flags for Medicaid work requirement moving through Congress
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's experiment with a work requirement for Medicaid offers a test of a similar mandate Republicans in Congress want to implement nationally, and advocates say the results so far should serve as a warning. Just days shy of its two-year anniversary, the Georgia Medicaid program is providing health coverage to about 7,500 low-income residents, up from 4,300 in the first year, but far fewer than the estimated 240,000 people who could qualify. The state had predicted at least 25,000 enrollees in the first year and nearly 50,000 in the second year. Applicants and beneficiaries have faced technical glitches and found it nearly impossible at times to reach staff for help, despite more than $50 million in federal and state spending on computer software and administration. The program, dubbed Georgia Pathways, had a backlog of more than 16,000 applications 14 months after its July 2023 launch, according to a renewal application Georgia submitted to the Trump administration in April. "The data on the Pathways program speaks for itself,' said Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, an advocacy group that has called for a broader expansion of Medicaid without work requirements. 'There are just so many hurdles at every step of the way that it's just a really difficult program for people to enroll in and then to stay enrolled in too.' Georgia's rules A tax and spending bill backed by President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers that passed the U.S. House in May would require many able-bodied Medicaid enrollees under 65 to show that they work, volunteer or go to school. The bill is now in the Senate, where Republicans want significant changes. Pathways requires beneficiaries to perform 80 hours a month of work, volunteer activity, schooling or vocational rehabilitation. It's the only Medicaid program in the nation with a work requirement. But Georgia recently stopped checking each month whether beneficiaries were meeting the mandate. Colbert and other advocates view that as evidence that state staff was overburdened with reviewing proof-of-work documents. Fiona Roberts, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Health, said Gov. Brian Kemp has mandated that state agencies 'continually seek ways to make government more efficient and accessible." Georgia's governor defends Pathways The governor's office defended the enrollment numbers. Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas said the early projections for Pathways were made in 2019, when the state had a much larger pool of uninsured residents who could qualify for the program. In a statement, Douglas credited the Republican governor with bringing that number down significantly through 'historic job growth,' and said the decline in uninsured residents proved 'the governor's plan to address our healthcare needs is working.' For BeShea Terry, Pathways was a 'godsend.' After going without insurance for more than a year, Terry, 51, said Pathways allowed her to get a mammogram and other screening tests. Terry touts Pathways in a video on the program's website. But in a phone interview with The Associated Press, she said she also experienced problems. Numerous times, she received erroneous messages that she hadn't uploaded proof of her work hours. Then in December, her coverage was abruptly canceled — a mistake that took months of calls to a caseworker and visits to a state office to resolve, she said. 'It's a process,' she said. 'Keep continuing to call because your health is very important.' Health advocates say many low-income Americans may not have the time or resources. They are often struggling with food and housing needs. They are also more likely to have limited access to the internet and work informal jobs that don't produce pay stubs. Republican lawmakers have promoted work requirements as a way to boost employment, but most Medicaid recipients already work, and the vast majority who don't are in school, caring for someone, or sick or disabled. Kemp's administration has defended Pathways as a way to transition people to private health care. At least 1,000 people have left the program and obtained private insurance because their income increased, according to the governor's office. After a slow start, advertising and outreach efforts for Pathways have picked up over the last year. At a job fair in Atlanta on Thursday, staff handed out information about the program at a table with mints, hand sanitizer and other swag with the Pathways' logo. A wheel that people could spin for a prize sat on one end. Since Pathways imposed the work requirement only on newly eligible state residents, no one lost coverage. The Arkansas experiment That's a contrast with Arkansas, where 18,000 people were pushed off Medicaid within the first seven months of a 2018 work mandate that applied to some existing beneficiaries. A federal judge later blocked the requirement. The bill that passed the U.S. House would likely cause an estimated 5.2 million people to lose health coverage, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released Wednesday. Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has proposed reviving the work mandate but without requiring people to regularly report employment hours. Instead, the state would rely on existing data to determine enrollees who were not meeting goals for employment and other markers and refer those people to coaches before any decision to suspend them. Arkansas is among at least 10 states pursuing work requirements for their Medicaid programs separate from the effort in Congress. Republican state Sen. Missy Irvin said Arkansas' new initiative aims to understand who the beneficiaries are and what challenges they face. 'We want you to be able to take care of yourself and your family, your loved ones and everybody else,' Irvin said. 'How can we help you? Being a successful individual is a healthy individual.' ___ Associated Press writers Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Geoff Mulvihill in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
