New dental clinic for MO Medicaid recipients opens in Lamar
LAMAR, Mo. — Medicaid recipients in southwest Missouri have a new option when it comes to dental services.
Access Family Care recently opened its first dental clinic in Lamar, specifically for those on Missouri Medicaid — also known as MO HealthNet.
The dental clinic is meant to serve Medicaid recipients in Barton County and the surrounding rural areas.
It's the only dental facility in Barton County that only accepts Missouri Medicaid.
According to the latest census data, nearly a quarter of all Barton County residents receive the needs-based health care coverage — which is among the highest in the state of Missouri.
'We found out people who were traveling to Bolivar, some people are going to Kansas City, some people are even going to northwest Arkansas to get dental care from Barton County, some from Dade County, too, which is east of here. So, we knew there was a need and we've just been trying to work on how we can serve that, because a lot of our patients really have struggles with transportation,' said Access Family Care Public Relations Director, Steve Douglas.
'To get those providers in our county and to have a segment of our population have access to that, that otherwise struggles to get access. Fantastic,' said Barton County Health Department Administrator, Joel Dermott.
Access Family Care Dental Clinic in Lamar provides general dentistry services, with a full-time Doctor of Dental Medicine and two hygienists.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Journals
18 minutes ago
- Business Journals
Sutter Health among Premier's 15 Top Health Systems for 2025
Story Highlights Sutter Health ranked third among large health systems nationwide. Premier's 15 Top Health Systems list evaluated 338 systems. Top-ranked systems outperformed peers in mortality rates and efficiency. Sutter Health was ranked among the best in the nation in Premier's 15 Top Health Systems in the United States. The annual list ranks health systems based on clinical outcomes, extended outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience. A total of 338 health systems were evaluated for the 2025 Premier's 15 Top Health Systems list. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events To help spotlight the top hospitals and health systems across the nation, The Business Journals is partnering with Premier, a technology-driven, health care improvement company, to publish its annual rankings, including its 100 Top Hospitals ranking. Sutter ranked No. 3 among five large health systems, following two based in Texas. It earned five stars, indicating performance in the top quintile, for clinical outcomes, which consider risk-adjusted mortality, complications, hospital-acquired infections, 30-day mortality and readmissions. It also received four stars for operational efficiency and patient experience. Sutter is one of the largest employers, nonprofits and companies in the Sacramento region. It reported nearly $18 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024 and employs about 17,500 people in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties. This year's top performers on Premier's 15 Top Health Systems rankings were Houston Methodist in Houston, Texas; Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and CHI Memorial in Chattanooga, Tennessee, each of which topped its respective size category. Only health systems with at least two short-term, general, acute care hospitals with separate Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Certification Numbers were included in the analysis. Rankings were based on Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data, and data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Care Compare website. Health systems do not apply to be considered. The health systems on this year's rankings outperformed peer systems by 22% on inpatient mortality rates. They also had fewer infections and shorter stays compared to peers. If the performance of this year's 15 Top Health Systems were extrapolated to all Medicare inpatients, more than 171,000 lives could be saved in-hospital and the typical patient could be released a half-day sooner. Here are this year's 15 Top Health Systems: Large Health Systems 1. Houston Methodist City: Houston, TX System type: Parent 2. Baylor Scott & White Health City: Dallas, TX System type: Parent 3. Sutter Health City: Sacramento, CA System type: System 4. Intermountain Health City: Salt Lake City, UT System type: Parent 5. UCHealth City: Aurora, CO System type: Parent Medium Health Systems 1. Saint Francis Health System City: Tulsa, OK System type: Parent 2. HCA Continental Division City: Denver, CO System type: Subsystem 3. HCA Mountain Division City: Cottonwood Heights, UT System type: Subsystem 4. HCA Central and West Texas Division City: Austin, TX System type: Subsystem 5. CHI Health City: Omaha, NE System type: Subsystem Small Health Systems 1. CHI Memorial City: Chattanooga, TN System type: Subsystem 2. CHRISTUS Spohn Health System City: Corpus Christi, TX System type: Subsystem 3. CHI Saint Joseph Health City: Lexington, KY System type: Subsystem 4. Health First City: Rockledge, FL System type: Parent 5. Baptist Health Care (Florida) City: Pensacola, FL System type: Parent
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nearly 11 million Americans would lose insurance under Trump's tax bill, analysis says
About 10.9 million Americans would lose health insurance coverage under the President Donald Trump's tax cut bill that cleared the House but faces a tough test in the Senate, a new analysis shows. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said about 10.9 million Americans would lose health insurance coverage through 2034 under the bill, including 1.4 million undocumented residents who get coverage through state-funded programs. The legislation that cleared the House would require nondisabled Americans on Medicaid to work at least 80 hours per month or qualify for an exemption, such as being a student or caregiver. The bill also would strip coverage to immigrants who get Medicaid through state-funded programs. The analysis said the bill would cut federal spending by about $1.3 trillion through 2034. But it would also deliver tax cuts of $3.75 trillion, and the federal deficit would increase nearly $2.4 trillion over the next decade. Health analysts said if the Medicaid changes as well as tweaks to the Affordable Care Act marketplace clear Congress, the effects on health insurance coverage would be significant. The CBO earlier estimated nearly 4 million people would lose health insurance coverage through 2034 if Congress did not extend sweetened COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits that have made ACA plans more affordable for consumers. Trump's Medicaid overhaul as well as the expiration of the more generous ACA tax credit could jeopardize health insurance coverage for nearly 15 million people, said Kathy Hempstead, a senior policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "We're making a giant U-turn here," said Hempstead. "Are we really going to be a thriving, productive society if we have a huge share of our population uninsured?" Hempstead said the uninsured might delay care and accrue more medical debt. She also said hospitals and doctors also will take a financial hit as uncompensated care rises. "There's going to be a big hit on on the health care economy as people stop getting care and start trying to get care that they can't pay for," Hempstead said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CBO says 10.9 million to lose insurance under Trump tax bill
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
GOP's health care plan: We're all going to die, so whatever
If death and taxes are the only certainties, Joni Ernst is here to cut one and fast-track the other. 'We all are going to die," she said. You might think that's a line from a nihilistic French play. Or something a teenage goth said in Hot Topic. Or an epiphany from your stoner college roommate after he watched Interstellar at 3 a.m. But that was actually the Iowa Senator's God-honest response to concerns that slashing Medicaid to achieve President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' would lead to more preventable deaths. The full exchange at a May 30 town hall included one audience member shouting at the stage, 'People will die!' And Ernst responding, 'People are not — well, we all are going to die, so for heaven's sake.' That's not a health care policy — that's a horoscope for the terminally screwed. As you can imagine, the internet didn't love it, because losing your health should not trigger the equivalent of a shrug emoji from someone elected to serve the public good. But rather than walking it back, Ernst leaned in, filming a mock apology in a graveyard because nothing says, 'I care about your future,' like filming next to people who don't have one. Opinion: Nurses are drowning while Braun ignores Indiana's health care crisis Ernst's comments aren't just philosophical musings. She's justifying policy choices that cause real harm. If passed, this bill would, according to the Congressional Budget Office, remove health coverage for up to 7.6 million Americans. That's not just 'we all die someday' territory. That's 'some people will die soon and needlessly.' What makes this even more galling is that the people pushing these cuts have access to high-quality, taxpayer-subsidized healthcare. Congress gets the AAA, platinum, concierge-level government plan. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are told to try their luck with essential oils or YouTube acupuncture tutorials. Honestly, it felt more like performance art than policy: 'Sorry about your grandma getting kicked out of her assisted living facility. Please enjoy this scenic view of her future! LOL!' We're not asking you to defeat death, senator. Death is both inevitable and bipartisan. But there is a broad chasm between dying peacefully at 85 and dying in your 40's because your Medicaid plan disappeared and your GoFundMe didn't meet its goal. Fundamentally, governing is about priorities. A budget is a moral document. When a lawmaker tells you 'we're all going to die' in response to a policy choice, they're telling you 'I've made peace with your suffering as collateral damage.' And if a U.S. Senator can stand in a cemetery and joke about it, you have to wonder — who do our federal legislators think those graves are for? Opinion: Indiana DCS cut foster care in half — and now claims children are safer This isn't just about one comment or one bill. It's about a mindset that treats healthcare as a luxury rather than a right. If death is inevitable, then access to healthcare you can afford is what helps determine how long you have, how comfortably you live, and whether you get to watch your kids grow up. Healthcare isn't about escaping death. It's about dignity and quality of life while we are here. Ernst got one thing right: death will come for us all. But leadership, real leadership, is about helping people live as long and as well as they can before that day comes. You want to make jokes, Senator? Fine. But if your punchline is 'You're all going to die anyway,' don't be surprised when your constituents realize the joke's on them. Kristin Brey is the "My Take" columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Joni Ernst films graveyard video after telling sick people "we all die" | Opinion