House Bill 1537, an act allowing primary care providers to provide dental disease prevention measures for children ages 0-3 enrolled in Medicaid , is passed by the NH House.

The Government Accountability Office concluded that children in Medicaid had nearly twice the rate of untreated tooth decay as children with private insurance

Thirty-five states, including all the New England States with the exception of New Hampshire, offer Medicaid reimbursement to primary-care medical providers who perform oral health screenings and/or preventive services such as fluoride varnish applications on high to moderate risk young children.

Reimbursing primary care providers for performing dental screenings and applying fluoride varnish on moderate to high risk is becoming “best practices” for saving states money by instituting primary prevention strategies.

This legislation has received broad bi-partisan support in the NH House of Representatives.  Both Republicans and Democrats recognize the serious problem of dental disease in children.

The NH Oral Health Coalition would like to extend a sincere thank you to the NH House of Representatives and its leadership for making children’s oral health a priority.

HB1537 will be scheduled for a public hearing in the NH Senate sometime in April.

For more information about this bill, please contact our office.