Dental Use and Expenditures for Older Uninsured Americans: The Simulated Impact of Expanded Coverage

• Published in: Health services research 2015-02, Vol.50 (1), p.117-135
• Main Authors: Manski, Richard J., Moeller, John F., Chen, Haiyan, Schimmel, Jody, Pepper, John V., St. Clair, Patricia A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Care and treatment; Causes of; Costs; coverage; Dental Care; Dental Health Services - economics; Dental Health Services - statistics & numerical data; Dental insurance; Dental utilization; Diagnosis; Economic aspects; Expenditures; Female; Forecasts and trends; Health care expenditures; Health Expenditures; Health services utilization; Humans; insurance; Insurance coverage; Insurance, Dental; Male; Market trend/market analysis; Medical care; Medical care quality; Medically Uninsured; Medically uninsured persons; Middle Aged; Older people; Periodontal disease; Periodontal diseases; Quality management; retirement; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Theme Issue: State Health Policy Research; Uninsured people; United States
• ISSN: 0017-9124; 1475-6773
• DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.12205

Objective To determine if providing dental insurance to older Americans would close the current gaps in dental use and expenditure between insured and uninsured older Americans. Data Sources/Study Setting We used data from the 2008 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) supplemented by data from the 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Study Design We compared the simulated dental use and expenditures rates of newly insured persons against the corresponding rates for those previously insured. Data Collection/Extraction Methods The HRS is a nationally representative survey administered by the Institute for Social Research (ISR). The MEPS is a nationally representative household survey sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Principal Findings We found that expanding dental coverage to older uninsured Americans would close previous gaps in dental use and expense between uninsured and insured noninstitutionalized Americans 55 years and older. Conclusions Providing dental coverage to previously uninsured older adults would produce estimated monthly costs net of markups for administrative costs that comport closely to current market rates. Estimates also suggest that the total cost of providing dental coverage targeted specifically to nonusers of dental care may be less than similar costs for prior users.