New York State Must Cover Root Canals For Certain Patients

New York must pay for root canals after a class action lawsuit against the state. Rather than being forced to have their teeth pulled, Medicaid patients will be permitted to get root canal treatments.

 
New York must cover root canal treatments for Medicaid patients instead of making them get their teeth pulled under the terms of a federal class action lawsuit settlement, according to Syracuse.com.

How Many New Yorkers Receive Medicaid?

The state spent $27.7 billion on Medicaid for the 2021-22 fiscal year. More than a third of New York residents utilize Medicaid, according to the state comptroller's "Financial Condition Report,"

Individuals covered by the State Medicaid program rose by 500,831 (7.1 percent) to nearly 7.6 million by the end of March 2022, the highest level ever, largely due to federal restrictions on disenrollment during the public health emergency.

Residents who are eligible for Medicaid include children, pregnant women, single people, families, and individuals certified blind or certified disabled. Eligible New Yorkers must not have an income above a certain level.

The Legal Aid Society Sued New York State On Behalf Of Medicaid Recipients

The Legal Aid Society says that its victory against New York State changes strict, old rules and benefits patients,

Most significantly, it ends the strict limit denying coverage for crowns and root canals to individuals with more than four pairs of teeth, an archaic policy not aligned with modern US dental practice. Coverage for those procedures will now be approved for Medicaid recipients when deemed medically necessary.

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