Dear Colleague,
The Arc of New Jersey regularly receives requests from family members when a loved one with an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) has difficulty locating a dentist affiliated with their Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) to provide oral health care in the dental office. Sometimes problems also occur when a person with IDD needs general anesthesia for a dental procedure.
This email provides several resources developed to assist anyone who is seeking Medicaid
MCO dental care for a person with IDD. All of the following resources were developed by the NJ chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) with a grant from the Inclusive
Healthy Communities (IHC) program, funded by the NJ Division of Disability Services (DDS).
1. Fact sheet: What to ask when contacting a dental office, in English and in Spanish.
This guide will help parents and other caregivers of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with questions to ask when calling a dental office for an appointment. Download the English version here and the Spanish version here.
2. Dental benefits for individuals with IDD - Medicaid Managed Care Organization webinar slides.
See the slides from a webinar that focused specifically on dental benefits for individuals with
IDD enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan. The webinar began with information that is applicable to all of the Medicaid MCOs, followed by slides from each MCO: Aetna Better
Health, Amerigroup, Horizon NJ Health, United Healthcare Community Plan, and WellCare. Slides can be viewed here.
3. Dental Directory information from each Medicaid Managed Care Organization.
Each NJ Medicaid Managed Care Organization has a network of providers with expertise in providing dental care to individuals with IDD. See the link for the information that each Medicaid MCO provided on their dental providers who have expertise in providing dental care to members with IDD.
Please note: After reviewing the resources in this email, if you have difficulty accessing dental care from a Medicaid MCO for an individual with IDD, please let me know: BRoberts@arcnj.org.
Please share this information with others who may also be interested.
Thank you.
Bev
Beverly Roberts
Director, Mainstreaming Medical Care
The Arc of New Jersey
985 Livingston Avenue
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
Direct line and fax: 732.246.2567
