Comparison of Medicaid and Non-Medicaid Dental Providers

A statewide mail survey of a stratified sample of 640 Michigan general dentists was conducted in 1983, with a response rate of 41 percent, n = 261. An analysis was performed to compare Medicaid and non-Medicaid providers. About half of all respondents reported that they were not seeing any Medicaid patients (Group 1); 29 percent reported that less than 10 percent of their patients were Medicaid-eligible (Group 2), and 22 percent reported that 10 percent or more of their patients were Medicaid-eligible (Group 3). Significant differences existed among the three groups for age of respondent, length of time in practice, and number of new patients seen each month. Respondents with greater percentages of Medicaid patients in their practices were more likely to be in group practice. Stratification of respondents by location suggested that rural providers were more likely than urban respondents to have some Medicaid patients in their practices. Over 40 percent of respondents from all groups reported themselves as being not busy enough. In 1984, more than one million persons in Michigan were eligible for Medicaid dental benefits, but only one-fourth of these individuals were recipients of dental care. Factors that may limit dentists' participation in the Medicaid program, despite the presence of a large eligible population and self-reported lack of business, are discussed.