According to the suit, 350,000 children did not receive a medical check-up and 750,000 received no dental care in 2007. Florida has spent $2 million defending the lawsuit.
The lack of care is the result of low Florida’s low reimbursement rates for Medicaid, which means few physicians and dentists are significant Medicaid providers, according to the report. The average Medicaid reimbursement for a basic dental exam is $15 in Florida, compared with $25 in Tennessee and $40 by private insurers.
A Florida child on Medicaid can wait as much as two to three months to see a specialist, compared to two to four weeks for children with private insurance, according to the AP report.
If the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, costs to Florida taxpayers could be tens of millions of dollars, but lawyers for the plaintiffs say that the state will save money in the long run by avoiding costs for children who aren’t treated efficiently, according to the report.
Read the Associated Press’s report about the Florida Medicaid class-action lawsuit.
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