Oral health is increasingly recognized as an important component of overall general well-being. As such, it is crucial that Michigan maintain policies that make dental services safe, but also accessible and affordable. The evidence suggests that licensing new dental therapists will help the state meet all three of these goals for its residents and help contribute to a healthier Michigan. This policy brief, in conjuction with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan, examines how creating a new class of midlevel dental providers, called dental therapists or dental hygiene practitioners, could alleviate dentist shortage problems and improve access to routine dental care
Public Health Coverage Won’t Save Us—Address the Physician Shortage
For the last four months the news cycle has been buzzing about increases in healthcare.gov enrollment, Medicaid disenrollment eclipsing 20 million Americans, and a renewed click bait “fight” for Medicaid expansion. What do all of these articles have in common? They all end up corralling reform discussions to narrow legislative proposals which fail to address...