Latest news with #HealthcareValueHub
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Addressing the dental care shortage in rural New Mexico
Feb. 11—Natasha McDonald wants to return home following the completion of her dental hygienist program in April, providing desperately needed care to her home city of 6,000 people. "I'm from a rural area, so I'm going back to a rural area," said McDonald, who's from Raton. Lack of accessible health care and a shortage of workers has affected New Mexico, particularly rural communities, and dental is no exception. The number of dentists in New Mexico per 100,000 people is 48.4 — below the national average of 60.84, according to Touro College of Dental Medicine. With providers retiring, moving to larger cities for different opportunities and communities struggling with financial barriers, patients are forced to drive longer distances or forego dental care altogether. A report from Healthcare Value Hub revealed that 30% of New Mexicans skipped important dental procedures in 2024 due to financial restrictions — a big concern of dental professionals. "A lot of people ... just don't have insurance and think, 'Well if I can't afford it, I'm just not going to do it,'" said Brittany Jaramillo, a third-semester Pima student who plans to return to Belen as a rural hygienist. There have been continued efforts to keep dental students and workers within the state, including the state's first dental school and incentives like the Rural Health Care Practitioner Tax Credit Program, which offers rural dentists a $5,000 tax credit and rural dental hygienists a $3,000 tax credit each year. "In order to attract anybody to rural areas, there has to be additional incentives of some kind, and that's why the state has the rural tax credit," said Tom Schripsema, executive director of the New Mexico Dental Association. One of the biggest issues among rural providers is the Medicaid process for dental patients, which can make it more expensive for practitioners to see a patient compared to what they earn and can limit what type of work they can do. One-third of dentists accept Medicaid, according to the New Mexico Dental Therapist Coalition. In New Mexico, 784,300 people were enrolled in Medicaid as of August 2024, according to health research company KFF. "When you're in a small town where the marketplace is small and half of the patients are on Medicaid, it's a smaller pool of patients to draw from if you can't get revenue or income from Medicaid," Schripsema said. Melissa Plese, dental hygiene program director at Pima, suggested the separation of health care and dental insurance plays a role in the lack of care for New Mexicans. "Dental insurance has not changed with the times. I think it all comes down to insurance and the fact that health care and dental are separate. "And when you look at the cost of dentistry, like a dental chair and an operatory room, the price it costs to actually output a clinic versus what you're getting charged is not equitable," Plese said. One way to improve the dental workforce would be to bolster the number of traveling dentists and dental hygienists , said Plese. However, licensing for dentistry in New Mexico does not allow for compact licenses — licenses that allow providers to practice in other states. However, dental students at Pima believe because there is such a shortage of dental providers across the state, there are more opportunities for newly graduated students. The projected job growth for all dentistry workers has increased between 7-9% nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. The industry is calling on state legislators to improve access to jobs and tax benefits. House Bill 15 would appropriate money to recruitment programs to address the health care shortage, and House Bill 226 seeks to increase the rural tax credit from $3,000 to $9,000 for dental hygienists and $5000 to $15,000 for dentists. Dental care is an essential service, McDonald said, "but a lot of people aren't willing to give up everything else to go work in a small town, and it's not compensated as much as an office in Albuquerque."
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
High health care costs burden New Hampshire families in more than just dollars
Rising health care costs pose an equity concern. (Getty Images) In New Hampshire, a majority of our friends and neighbors are delaying or skipping medical care simply because they can't afford the costs. As a state, this is more than troubling – it's tragic. The New Hampshire Consumer Healthcare Experience Survey, a recent survey that New Futures conducted in partnership with the Healthcare Value Hub at Altarum, revealed alarming statistics about the health care landscape in our state. To put it simply, Granite Staters are struggling to afford health care and they worry about rising health care costs. The consequences of high costs reach far beyond individual suffering. When our residents delay preventive care or skip necessary treatments, minor health issues can escalate into major ones, ultimately driving up costs for everyone and straining our entire health care system. More than 40% of survey respondents reported they are already struggling to pay their medical bills, creating a cascade of financial hardship that ripples through our communities. The burden of surprise medical billing further compounds this crisis. Thirty-two percent of New Hampshire residents have been blindsided by unexpected medical bills in the past year, and even more alarming, 1 in 5 of these billing issues remain unresolved. Some of our residents are even going without health insurance due to high costs. Nearly half of uninsured Granite Staters cited high costs as the main reason for going without health insurance, far exceeding other reasons like not needing coverage or not knowing how to get it. These aren't just statistics – they represent thousands of New Hampshire families putting off critical medical care, rationing or skipping life-saving medications, and making impossible choices between their health and other essential needs. To further complicate this issue, hospital mergers have the potential to reshape our health care landscape. The recent approval of Catholic Medical Center's sale to HCA Healthcare, a for-profit organization based in Nashville, Tennessee, adds another layer of uncertainty to an already challenging situation. Hospital mergers can bring changes to health care delivery and raise important questions about the ongoing cost and quality of care available in our communities. Further, rising health care costs pose an equity concern. One in 3 (or 33%) respondents of color skipped needed medical care due to a distrust of or feeling disrespected by health care providers, compared to 19% of white respondents. People with disabilities and members of their households were also more likely to ration medication, delay or go without care, or find medical bills burdensome due to cost compared to those who did not have a disability or live with someone who does. This crisis crosses political lines. The survey reveals overwhelming bipartisan support for solutions to address health care affordability struggles. Of residents surveyed, more than 92% indicated the government should take action to cap out-of-pocket costs for life-saving medication; 92% indicated the government should require drug companies to provide advanced notice of price increases; and 91% agreed the government should expand insurance coverage options so that everyone can afford health insurance. Each of these categories earned support from 96% of Democratic respondents and 87% of Republicans. It's clear that our residents are united in calling on their elected officials to prioritize practical solutions to reduce overall health care costs for New Hampshire families. As our legislators prepare to build the 2025-2026 state budget, we face a crucial choice in where we invest our money. The data is clear. The public sentiment is clear. Now we need our state leadership to be equally clear in their commitment to addressing this crisis. The solution requires sustained and strategic investment in our people and families, as our health and well-being are our most critical assets. As we enter the budget process, I call on our legislators to prioritize foundational health investments that span all stages of life, from our youngest residents to our oldest. The time to act is now. If we continue this destructive trend, the cost will come not only in dollars but also in lives and the health of our communities. We must secure a state budget that prioritizes not only individual health and well-being, but the long-term resilience and prosperity of the entire Granite State. The health of our people and our state depend on it.
