As part of a large budget bill making its way through Congress, there is a provision to provide dental and eye care for Medicare recipients for the first time in our nation’s history. Ironically, the bill is facing opposition from dentists, who fear that government reimbursement rates would be too low. Back in 1965, the American Dental Association fought to keep dental from being a paid service for Medicare recipients. Sadly, nearly half of all Americans over the age of 65 did not visit a dentist last year, and almost 20% have lost all of their teeth. I know about the problem firsthand. In addition to owning Family inHome Caregiving, I am president of the non-profit Hands to Help Seniors which provides emergency assistance to seniors in a financial pickle. The vast majority of our donations go to providing dental care to low-income senior citizens, which is very expensive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/upshot/medicare-dental-care.html
