Community Dental Health

cover art

Cover Date:
December 2009
Print ISSN:
0265 539X
Vol:
26
Issue:
4

Professional charges not reimbursed to dentists in the US: evidence from Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 1996.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study examined professional charges not paid to dentists. Methods: This analysis used logistic regression in SUDAAN examining the 1996 MEPS data from 12,931 adults. Results: Among people incurring dental care charges, 13.6% had more than $50 of unpaid charge (UC). The percapita UC was $53.30. Total UC was higher for highest income group [45.4% of total] compared to lowest income group [26.0%]. The percapita UC of $76.70 for low income group was significantly greater than for high income group ($47.80, P<0.01). More Medicaid recipients (52% vs. non-recipients: 12%) incurred at least $50 in UC (P<0.01). Adjusted odds of incurring UC were greater for those employed (OR=1.3, 95%CI: 1.0-1.7), and for those with private insurance (OR: 1.5, CI: 1.31.9). Number of dental procedure types modified the association between Medicaid recipient and UC (OR=13.6 for Medicaid recipients undergoing multiple procedure types; OR: 2.3 for Medicaid non-recipients with multiple procedure types; OR: 1.9 for Medicaid recipients receiving single dental procedure. Conclusions: Having private insurance, being unemployed and being Medicaid insured undergoing multiple procedure were strongest predictors of UC.

Key words: Dental charges, expenditure, MEPS, socio-demographic, unreimbursed charges, Medicaid, dental procedures.

Article Price
£15.00
Institution Article Price
£
Page Start
227
Page End
233
Authors
A. Chattopadhyay, G.D. Slade, D.J. Caplan

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  1. Book Review - “Food constituents and oral health”
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  1. Sense of coherence associates with oral and general health behaviours
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  1. Evaluation of the direct and diffusion methods for the determination of fluoride content in table salt
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  1. Fluoride toothpaste utilization behaviour among preschool children in Perlis, Malaysia
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  1. Rural Mexican immigrant parents’ interpretation of children’s dental symptoms and decisions to seek treatment
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  1. Assessment of HIV/AIDS awareness among 500 patients referred to the Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry
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  1. Professional charges not reimbursed to dentists in the US: evidence from Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 1996.
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  1. Quality of life in patients with dental conditions: comparing patients’ and providers’ evaluation
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  1. Understanding politics? Some lessons from Swedish dentistry.
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  1. Factors influencing the need for dental care amongst the elderly in the Republic of Ireland
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  1. The periodontal health of Nepalese schoolchildren
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