SACRAMENTO, CA - Western Dental, the state’s largest Medi-Cal Dental provider, thanks the Legislature and Governor Newsom for their commitment to preserve Prop 56 Medi-Cal Dental funding. However, more work will be needed to ensure providers are able to continue accepting patients in the future. Western Dental’s 4,000 employees, including more than 750 dentists and hygienists in our 225 offices in California, are proud to serve more than 1 million Medi-Cal patient visits every year.
“Pediatric dentistry is critical to helping children avoid major dental issues that can lead to decay, infection and preventable lifelong health issues, which is why protecting the resources that keep kids safe is a must,” said Peter Truong, DDS, Chief Dental Officer of Western Dental. “We serve hundreds of thousands of children every year who rely on Medi-Cal Dental for their access to care, and Prop 56 funding helps keep our doors open so we can keep seeing the kids who need us the most. At a time when Medicaid funding is facing federal cuts and our patients are under attack, we need to be doing everything we can to secure their health and safety not just now, but in years to come.”
Proposition 56, a measure overwhelmingly passed by California voters in 2016, directed revenue from increased tobacco taxes to bolster access to care for individuals and families that qualify for Medi-Cal Dental. Prop 56 has not only made it possible for California dentists to provide access and care to more patients, but also allowed new providers to open their doors and create a more stabilized and equitable health care system throughout the state, including in areas where dentists were previously in short supply.
As part of his May Revise budget proposal, Governor Newsom proposed eliminating Proposition 56 dental supplemental payments immediately, a decision that threatened to significantly reduce access to critical oral health services for millions of Medi-Cal beneficiaries statewide. In response, Western Dental, the California Dental Association and other stakeholders actively engaged with the Legislature and the Administration, successfully advocating for a two-year delay of these cuts. This delay would have provided additional time to collaborate with policymakers on alternative solutions to preserve essential dental services. Ultimately, the final budget agreement negotiated between the Governor and legislative leaders delays these harmful cuts, but only for one year, underscoring the continued urgency of protecting access to dental care in California.
“Prop 56 funding has allowed Western Dental providers to see millions of new patients over the last decade,” said Preet Takkar, Chief Executive Officer of Western Dental. “Those patients, particularly in underserved communities, wouldn’t have had access to dental care if Prop 56 hadn’t passed. The reality is, the Medi-Cal Dental Program and dental providers were in a real crisis before Prop 56, and dentists across the state worried about how they could continue caring for their own patients, let alone the millions of kids and families who were without care. The proposed budget prevents Western Dental, and thousands of other providers, from reverting to that crisis in the short term. We must look for long-term options that create stability for our patients and the providers that serve them.”
“In the Central Valley, and other rural communities across the state, Western Dental offers some of the only access to dentistry for tens of miles,” said Dr. Milan Jinjuwadia, DDS, Vice President, Clinical Operations. “If our offices were forced to close, patients would have to drive long distances, take time off of work or in many cases, forgo care altogether. It is encouraging to see the Legislature and Governor Newsom continue funding for Medi-Cal Dental using Prop 56 resources in the budget for now. We remain dedicated to caring for our patients and fighting for a program that ensures access for them.”
Last month, Western Dental warned that the company may be forced to close dental offices in California if Proposition 56 funding was cut.
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