Is free luxury dental work for people on public assistance fair?

Question

In recent years I have noticed a significant increase in the number of people in poor communities with braces. Upon questioning several people in my orthodondist's office, including the billing staff, I found out that medicaid covered the full cost ~2000 dollars. This orthodontist has hundreds of poor families using medicaid to pay for their braces, so he gets hundreds of these customers, and the customers get free braces while the middle class ends up paying for it all. Why are our tax dollars being used to give a guy's seven kids FREE cosmetic dental work, which is a LUXURY item. Whats next, free tooth whitening or perhaps free facelifts. When will we wake up and do something about this system that rewards the poor and scams the middle class?

While the kids do not recieve the money, they do recieve an expensive and unnecessary service at no cost. A rolex worth of unnecessary dental work in their mouths. If they want it, they should PAY for it. Also people have had crooked teeth for centuries, before straightening was possible, with little problems. It is a Luxury item except in the most severe cases, impacted teeth etc. As for the orthodontist, he knows how to work the system, the problem is with the system which allows this to happen.

Answer 1

In this country braces for misaligned teeth aren't considered a luxury or cosmetic, when someones teeth are misaligned they run the risk of developing tooth loss and periodontal disease. It may make proper chewing or speaking difficult.
In some cases it may prohibit the person from ever getting a good job. I know it burns you to pay for some kid, but if we had universal insurance, you would be covered too.
Think of that the next time you hear that private insurance is so great. We would all have kids who could have straight teeth, isn't that a better way to go than no one has it?

And, by the way, its not the kids that get the money, its the dentist. He doesn't have to accept medicaid.
For you to be convinced of unnecessary dental work, well that would be fraud on the part of your dentist. If hes putting braces on kids who don't need it that's theft. If the kids do need it, then that's need and I don't see whats so bad about that. It doesn't reward the poor, most kids hate their braces, and the only one making money on it is the dentist.
Your argument about good dental heath before braces is not accurate, even many of the Pharaohs had abcessed teeth and many people died of those infections. In addition to which they did not live as long as we do now, and now those adult teeth need to last sixty to seventy years as opposed to forty.

Answer 2

if you want to really get mad, look into the dental work the VA authorizes for our military veterans.

when an elderly VA client's tooth breaks so that his pre-VA bridge won't work any more, the VA's response is to pull all of his teeth and have full dentures made!!

Why?? Because this is cheapest in the long run!! [of course]

***
btw, our elderly veterans aren't eligible for VA medical benefits unless they're just a bit too 'rich' to qualify for Medicaid.

{My father was in the Army for four years, combat infantry in WW II. He has 'too many' assets to qualify for VA medical, so he has to make do with the meager Medicare offerings in his small county. His MediCare copays are running about $1000 a month -- which is approximately 50% more than his entire income. HMOs aren't an option -- none of the local specialists he needs are members of any HMO and he can't drive the 50 miles to see the only such specialists from the only HMO offered in his county.}

Answer 3

I don't agree. I think it should be covered under the public plan. Orthodontics are covered under my health insurance plan. Why shouldn't a kid be able to get braces ? There are windows to when you can get them . They need to have them done so their teeth look good . They will be working in the world. It's part of a professional image.

Answer 4

so you've just 'noticed' this ... until you get some details and have some facts STFU!!!!

you assume to much


if poor people have it so great why don't you become one

... if tax dollars are in fact going to poor people for braces, that's a easily fixable problem ... unlike immigration, special interests, terrorism, taxation, and loss of civil rights ~ all issues we face today

.. but you'd rather spend your energy making sure the poor get nothing ~ very smart

Answer 5

Ohhhhhh! This steams me! I had to scrape and everything to make sure that my daughter had her braces paid for - and I have real insurance and they paid for part of it but the rest was up to me. GET A JOB!!

Answer 6

its all good because if you have messed up teeth you're less likely to get a good job in the future and will suck up more welfare funds...

Answer 7

I object to the solid gold TRAX that they get at our costs...

Answer 8

I whole heartedly agree.