"I live on social security and can barely afford my rent - let alone food, transportation, and medical bills. Without dental care, not only am I in pain, but I feel helpless and ashamed.”
- Gwynne, 75-year old Dientes patient
Stand with Seniors to Improve Access to Dental Care
"I live on social security and can barely afford my rent - let alone food, transportation, and medical bills. Without dental care, not only am I in pain, but I feel helpless and ashamed.”
- Gwynne, 75-year old Dientes patient
Stand with Seniors to Improve Access to Dental Care
1 in 5 Seniors Have Lost All Their Teeth
Oral health is a foundation for overall health. So why does Medicare still pretend older Americans don’t have teeth?
Medicare (the public health insurance we all get once we turn age 65) doesn’t cover oral health. This leaves our seniors struggling to speak and eat nutritiously. It affects self-confidence and can lead to social isolation. Seniors on fixed incomes can’t afford the cost of expensive, private dental insurance or for paying out of pocket.
Medicare should cover your whole body --
including your mouth.
Now is the time to act. COVID-19 has shown the risks and costs when underlying chronic conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, are exacerbated by oral health issues.
When lack of oral health coverage prevents people from getting the care they need to be healthy, we all pay the price of increased costs to our healthcare system. Every year, more than 2 million people visit the emergency room due to oral health complications.
Luckily, 7 in 10 Americans support dental coverage for Medicare, with strong support across the political spectrum. All that’s needed is a commitment to act.
The Medicare Dental Benefit Act of 2021: H.R. 502 and S. 97, introduced into Congress on January 28, 2021, would:
- Add oral health coverage to Medicare Part B, treating the coverage of oral health services the very same way as other health services in the Medicare program.
- Offer sufficiently comprehensive oral health coverage, including dentures, and ensure that Medicare will reimburse for these services the same way it does for other health services.
- Support access to care for low-income Medicare enrollees to ensure adequate reimbursement for dental providers who serve low-income enrollees.
Are you a champion of progress? Take action today!
You can make your voice heard. Tell Congress to strengthen Medicare by adding oral health coverage.
Center for Medicare Advocacy makes it quick and easy for you to contact your members of Congress. All you need is your name and address.
Spread the word.
Our partner CareQuest has put together a toolkit to help you (and anyone you’d like to tell!) reach out to your representatives in Congress directly via email, phone, or social media.
Are you a Medicare beneficiary or a caretaker of an aging or disabled loved one who needs dental care? Your story is critical to the fight for Medicare dental coverage. Join us by sharing your voice.
On oral health, "It's a silent disease, you don't notice anything today, right in this moment, but day after day, it adds up and eventually catches up with you... after losing most of my teeth, I want to make sure that the teeth I still have are healthy."
- Eugene, Dientes patient
On oral health, "It's a silent disease, you don't notice anything today, right in this moment, but day after day, it adds up and eventually catches up with you... after losing most of my teeth, I want to make sure that the teeth I still have are healthy."
- Eugene, Dientes patient
