California lawmakers are considering several bills to improve and expand access to Denti-Cal, the state’s troubled dental program for low-income people — including ones that would draw from the state’s new tobacco tax to boost dentists’ pay.
Assembly Bill 753, introduced by Assemblywoman Anna Caballero (D-Salinas), would direct money from the state’s new tobacco tax to broaden access to Denti-Cal, which for years has been faulted in state and federal reports. The bill will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Health on Tuesday.
A 2014 California state auditor’s report showed that fewer than half of the children eligible for Denti-Cal benefits actually saw a dentist in the previous year.
Critics say access to care suffers because Denti-Cal payments to dentists are so low that many can’t afford to participate in the program. The auditor’s report also found that Denti-Cal payments for the most common procedures averaged $21.60, about 35 percent of the national average.
In the next fiscal year, Caballero’s bill would earmark $300 million of the almost $1.2 billion expected in new Medi-Cal funding from the state’s tobacco tax revenues. In future years, the bill would require at least 15 percent of those revenues to be spent on Denti-Cal services.