Adult Medicaid Testimonies

My son, Neil (27) has severe Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). He is functionally non-verbal. When he was a child, it was easy to find a dentist who accepted Medicaid. However, after he turned 21, it was a struggle to find a dentist who accepted Medicaid, and sedation dentistry options were limited. Therefore, it was difficult to get regular dental check-ups. It took 6 months to get an appointment. After being examined, the dentist determined that he needed to get 5 of his teeth extracted. Thereafter, an appointment for extraction took a long wait time also. He was able to get his extraction done on December 30th, 2021. It seemed an insurmountable effort to find dental care for my son after he turned 21.

Aldona Carney, Mother of Neil, Wichita, KS

Sandra is 24 has many medical issues. However, the main one is quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Sandra's dental care has been a nightmare! As a child she would have to go into the hospital every two years for a deep cleaning and x-rays. This dentist was wonderful! When Sandra turned 21 everything changed. She lost her dentist whom she had since birth. I began to search for dentists in who also accepted Medicaid. It was not an easy task. I had to contact Sunflower Insurance and they recommended a clinic that accepted Medicaid. She got her teeth cleaned by a hygienist and was referred to a specialist dentist for a deep cleaning. None covered Medicaid. So, I reached out to the clinic she visited previously, and they offered sedation. To qualify for sedation, I had a substantial amount of paperwork to complete. After 3 years, I was informed that Sandra wasn't qualified due to medical issues. Therefore, I reached out to Sunflower again and they provided a list of 20 clinics accepting Medicaid. This went in vain, when I reached out to all the clinics on the list, either they had reached their capacity of Medicaid patients or the once that would accept her didn't have a hospital setting. Through word of mouth, I found a dentist for my daughter. It was an hour and a half from where we were residing. In the due course, I had taken out supplemental dental insurance for Sandra. The dentist wouldn’t have accepted Medicaid alone, the supplemental dental insurance was necessary so now Sandra got her wisdom teeth pulled out in the hospital setting. and we ended up in the night at the hospital because she had breathing issue. It is difficult that after you turn 21 you just exit the program.

Melanie, Mother of Sandra, Wichita, KS

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