Denti-Cal Case Study
1. In the article, she keeps her teeth in a box- evidence of a system that failed her by Jocelyn Wiener (2017) discusses how the Denti-Cal is a broken system; especially within the older population. Denti-Cal is a program through Medi-Cal that helps low-income individuals. Unfortunately, this program was not active in California between 2009-2014 (Wiener, 2017). However, the program was brought back in 2015, but the new program is not cutting it. Denti-Cal has many holes that include low reimbursement rates, restrictive rules, and only a handful of Denti-Cal providers (Wiener, 2017). Additionally, seniors are suffering from this inadequate program since they are not receiving the proper care for their teeth. Most are suffering from gum disease,
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Wadsack is a 68-year-old Sacramento resident who has lost most of her teeth. Wadsack stainless steel crown on three of her teeth, but the dentist installed temporary crowns since he was waiting on Medi-Cal to see if they could cover the stainless-steel crown (Wiener, 2017). While she was waiting, her teeth decayed and even landed in the hospital for meningitis. After this happened the state approved payment to fix her teeth, however, Medi-Cal refused to pay the porcelain-fused crowns and she lost her teeth (Wiener, …show more content…
I believe that this article does a good job of giving a complete picture of the issue. The author explained the issue in great-detail by stating what Denti-Cal was, who is part of this program, what are the major issues that the program has, what are some ways to fix the program, and an anecdote. I feel that this article was easy to read, and everyone can understand the big flaws Denti-Cal has. Additionally, by the author adding an anecdote to her article the reader can put themselves in the shoes of someone who has been wronged from this program. For instance, when I read that Ms. Wadsack ended up with meningitis and Medi-Cal refused to cover for her crowns it made me very upset. It showed me that this program needs to improve if not there are going to be more individuals like Ms. Wadsack who are going to end up in the hospital for an
Wadsack is a 68-year-old Sacramento resident who has lost most of her teeth. Wadsack stainless steel crown on three of her teeth, but the dentist installed temporary crowns since he was waiting on Medi-Cal to see if they could cover the stainless-steel crown (Wiener, 2017). While she was waiting, her teeth decayed and even landed in the hospital for meningitis. After this happened the state approved payment to fix her teeth, however, Medi-Cal refused to pay the porcelain-fused crowns and she lost her teeth (Wiener, …show more content…
I believe that this article does a good job of giving a complete picture of the issue. The author explained the issue in great-detail by stating what Denti-Cal was, who is part of this program, what are the major issues that the program has, what are some ways to fix the program, and an anecdote. I feel that this article was easy to read, and everyone can understand the big flaws Denti-Cal has. Additionally, by the author adding an anecdote to her article the reader can put themselves in the shoes of someone who has been wronged from this program. For instance, when I read that Ms. Wadsack ended up with meningitis and Medi-Cal refused to cover for her crowns it made me very upset. It showed me that this program needs to improve if not there are going to be more individuals like Ms. Wadsack who are going to end up in the hospital for an