Evaluation of Potential Strategies to Increase Provider Participation in Florida's Dental Medicaid Program

Purpose: To evaluate dentists' perspectives on the Medicaid program and explore hypothetical changes that could lead to increased participation. Methods: A 26-item questionnaire assessing demographics, practice profile, attitudes towards the Medicaid program and hypo-thetical scenarios to increase participation was administered to general and pediatric dentists. Results: A total of 165 surveys were completed; 50.6 percent of respondents indicated they were not Medicaid participating providers. Pediatric dentists were more likely than general dentists to be participating in Medicaid and willing to participate in the future, 35.5 percent vs. 23.2 percent respectively. A 68 percent increase in fees would yield the highest level of participation with 58.4 percent of participants responding they would treat at least 16 additional children per week. Pediatric versus general dentists would be more likely to participate in Medicaid with more modest raises, i.e. 30-44 percent range. Low compensation by Medicaid (weighted average of 4.77) was the greatest barrier indicated by all participants. Hispanic dentists had greater odds of participating in Medicaid than non-Hispanic dentists. Dentists who were 'employees' had a greater odds of participating in Medicaid than a 'solo owner of a practice'. Conclusion: Increased participation in Medicaid would require a combination of meaningful increases in reimbursement rates, loan forgiveness programs and tax credits.