OBJECTIVES: To describe rates of Medicaid-funded services provided by orthodontists in Iowa to children and adolescents, identify factors associated with utilization, and describe geographic barriers to care. METHODS: We analyzed enrollment and claims data from the Iowa Medicaid program for a 3-year period, January 2008 through December 2010. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed with utilization of orthodontic services as the main outcome variable. Service areas were identified by small area analysis in order to examine regional variability in utilization. RESULTS: The overall rate of orthodontic utilization was 3.1 percent. Medicaid enrollees living in small towns and rural areas were more likely to utilize orthodontic services than those living in urban areas. Children who had an oral evaluation by a primary care provider in the year prior to the study period were more likely to receive orthodontic services. Service areas with lower population density and greater mean travel distance to participating orthodontists had higher utilization rates than smaller, more densely populated areas. CONCLUSIONS: Rural residency and increased travel distances do not appear to act as barriers to orthodontic care for this population. The wide variability of utilization rates seen across service areas may be related to workforce supply in the form of orthodontists who accept Medicaid-insured patients. Referrals to orthodontists from primary care dentists may improve access to specialty care for Medicaid enrollees.
OBJECTIVES: To describe rates of Medicaid-funded services provided by orthodontists in Iowa to children and adolescents, identify factors associated with utilization, and describe geographic barriers to care. METHODS: We analyzed enrollment and claims data from the Iowa Medicaid program for a 3-year period, January 2008 through December 2010. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed with utilization of orthodontic services as the main outcome variable. Service areas were identified by small area analysis in order to examine regional variability in utilization. RESULTS: The overall rate of orthodontic utilization was 3.1 percent. Medicaid enrollees living in small towns and rural areas were more likely to utilize orthodontic services than those living in urban areas. Children who had an oral evaluation by a primary care provider in the year prior to the study period were more likely to receive orthodontic services. Service areas with lower population density and greater mean travel distance to participating orthodontists had higher utilization rates than smaller, more densely populated areas. CONCLUSIONS: Rural residency and increased travel distances do not appear to act as barriers to orthodontic care for this population. The wide variability of utilization rates seen across service areas may be related to workforce supply in the form of orthodontists who accept Medicaid-insured patients. Referrals to orthodontists from primary care dentists may improve access to specialty care for Medicaid enrollees.
Authors: George L Wehby; Dan M Shane; Adweta Joshi; Elizabeth Momany; Donald L Chi; Raymond A Kuthy; Peter C Damiano Journal: Health Serv Res Date: 2016-09-09 Impact factor: 3.402
Authors: Jantraveus M Merritt; Geoffrey Greenlee; Anne Marie Bollen; JoAnna M Scott; Donald L Chi Journal: Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop Date: 2016-04 Impact factor: 2.650
Authors: Ricardo Dias de Castro; Marianne de Lucena Rangel; Marcos André Azevedo da Silva; Brunna Thaís Lucwu de Lucena; Alessandro Leite Cavalcanti; Paulo Rogério Ferreti Bonan; Julyana de Araújo Oliveira Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2016-10-19 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Gerald Minick; Terri Tilliss; W Craig Shellhart; Sheldon M Newman; Clifton M Carey; Andrew Horne; Susan Whitt; Larry J Oesterle Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2017-08-22