Maine lawmakers have given initial approval to a bill that would expand access to dental care to more than 200,000 lower-income Mainers who are on the state’s Medicaid program.
According to the Portland Press Herald, the Maine House voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of a bill that would allow Mainers 21 and older who are on MaineCare to receive preventative, diagnostic and restorative dental care.
Next, the bill heads to the Maine Senate and then, if approved there, will go to the governor’s desk to be signed.
A task force in 2012 found that emergency room visits for dental problems costs MaineCare about $17 million a year. The state would also become eligible for $19 million in federal funding each year if the bill becomes law.
