Kids' Dental Coverage: Maine's Now No. 1

  • <<
  • >>

 The first-in-the-nation legislation ensuring Maine’s youngest children have access to early preventive dental care was signed June 1 by Gov. John E. Baldacci. The bill, "An Act To Improve Dental Insurance Coverage for Maine Children," ensures that all dental benefit plans provide coverage to children from birth, earlier than the coverage of most kids' dental plans (if available at all) that begin coverage at 2,3, or 4 years of age.

Beginning in January of 2011, any dental plan offered in Maine will have to provide parents the ability to enroll their child at birth, or at any age thereafter. Whether or not children are enrolled will be entirely up to the parents.

The Maine Dental Association lobbied for legislation after a local dentist treated a 4-year-old child who had significant tooth decay. The parent said she didn’t bring the child to the dentist earlier because her dental benefit plan didn’t pay for earlier care. After some investigation, it turned out the parents’ employer had an age restriction for enrollment, which has been very common in Maine for dental benefit plans.

Gov. Baldacci is right to be proud. “With this legislation Maine is setting a high standard for children’s dental benefit coverage,” he said. “I am pleased to sign this bill into law and make Maine a leader for children’s oral health.”

Bravo!

Comments

-->