Dentists hesitate to treat kids on Medicaid: study | Reuters

"Dentists hesitate to treat kids on Medicaid: study | Reuters: "(Reuters Health) - Dentists were less willing to see kids who needed an emergency appointment if they were covered by Medicaid than if they had private insurance in a new study based in Cook County, Illinois."

"women made two calls to 85 different dental practices in the county, about four weeks apart, with the same story [son with broken tooth]. The only difference was that one time the women told dental offices they were covered by Medicaid, and in the other call, they said the family had private Blue Cross insurance.

"In total, dentists' offices told almost two-thirds of mothers with Medicaid that their son couldn't get an appointment, compared to less than 5 percent of those with Blue Cross insurance."