A few weeks ago, I stood before the California State Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health<\/a> not only as the CEO of Dientes Community Dental Care, but as a voice for our 18,000 patients in Santa Cruz County \u2014 who rely on Medi-Cal for essential dental care. My message was clear: Reject Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s proposed cuts to Medi-Cal dental benefits. The consequences of repeating past mistakes are too great.<\/p>\n I am grateful to Assemblymember Dawn Addis, committee member Mia Bonta and Speaker Robert Rivas for their continued support of oral health care for California\u2019s most vulnerable communities. Their leadership reflects what is truly at stake: not just a budget decision, but the health and dignity of millions. Within the next week, the Assembly and Senate health committees will hold hearings regarding the broader Health and Human Services (HHS) budget, and the final decision process will stretch into June.<\/p>\n At Dientes, we have seen what is possible when California invests in comprehensive care. When I began leading the organization in 2004, we served fewer than 7,000 patients, most receiving only minimal care \u2014 perhaps a cleaning or a filling. Today, thanks to the Affordable Care Act and Medi-Cal expansion, we serve 18,000 patients annually. They receive life-changing \u2014 and often life-saving \u2014 care: root canals that stop infections, dentures that restore the ability to eat and prenatal dental care that protects both mother and child. This is what a functioning safety net looks like.<\/p>\n Now, that progress is at risk.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s proposal would eliminate full-scope adult dental benefits for certain Medi-Cal enrollees based on immigration status<\/a> and cut Proposition 56 supplemental payments<\/a> that sustain dental providers. While framed as a $2 billion savings, these cuts would in reality shift costs elsewhere \u2014 onto hospital emergency rooms and communities already under strain.<\/p>\n We know this because we have seen it before.<\/p>\n In 2009, California eliminated adult Medi-Cal dental benefits. The results were immediate and severe. Preventive care disappeared. Patients delayed treatment until pain became unbearable. Dental infections escalated into medical emergencies. Emergency departments \u2014 already stretched thin \u2014 became the default providers for preventable dental conditions. This was not cost savings; it was cost deferral, and at a much higher price.<\/p>\n Today, we risk repeating that same pattern.<\/p>\n
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Dientes Community Dental CEO Laura Marcus. Credit: Joop Rubens<\/p>\n