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Lawmakers: Keep Kids’ Dental Plan

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Miami Herald
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

A state agency’s proposal to eliminate the state’s prepaid dental health plan for low-income children has garnered opposition from two Miami-Dade lawmakers and a coalition of dentists.  The Agency for Health Care Administration has proposed switching children’s dental services from the prepaid dental plan to a Medicaid managed care model, the Miami Herald reports. 

Officials say managed care plans will be more cost-effective and are critical as part of the expansion of managed care for Medicaid medical services. However, state Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, and state Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, are sponsoring bills to keep the current plan, saying it effectively serves about 1.8 million children statewide.  The lawmakers have the backing of The Coalition for Independent Dentistry. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.