Medicaid caseload for pediatric oral health care.

backgroundThe authors' aims were to compare, according to strata, dentists' participation in Medicaid and Medicaid provider-level caseload measured as the number of patients or visits for preventive or restorative care for 2 comparison years.

methodsThe data sources were the 2012-2013 Medicaid Analytic eXtract claims and 2013 National Plan and Provider Enumeration System data sets. The authors measured Medicaid participation as the proportion of dentists participating in Medicaid among those in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System. The authors measured provider-level caseload according to the number of patients or visits. The authors stratified oral health care providers according to state; whether practicing in rural, suburban, or urban communities; and provider type.

resultsThe differences in participation rates for rural versus suburban and versus urban communities ranged from -4% through 27% and -6% through 37%, respectively. The 2012 state median number of patients per provider for preventive care ranged from 99 through 358. The provider-level caseload increased from rural to urban and from other provider to general dentist to pediatric dentist. The difference in caseload from 2012 to 2013 was not statistically significant except for the pediatric dentist type.

conclusionsThis study's results suggest that the realized caseload for children enrolled in Medicaid varies according to provider type and urbanicity. The state median caseload for preventive care is lower than the 500:1 patient to provider ratio used as the minimum caseload in access estimates from other studies. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study's results can assist states in gauging the level of oral health care provided to children insured by Medicaid compared with that in other states, with implications for the specification of oral health policies.