Tennessee’s Medicaid Program to Cover Dental Care for Adults

Beginning January 1, Tennessee residents who are covered under the state’s Medicaid program, TennCare, will receive dental care benefits. Tennessee, Alabama, and Delaware are the only states that do not include dental care in their Medicaid coverage. Fourteen states—Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia—cover emergency dental care only. However, Tennessee’s new benefit will pay for both emergency and preventive care. Approximately 600,000 Tennesseans will be impacted by this change. The problem will be in trying to find a provider. In the United States, only about 38% of dentists accept Medicaid. Click here to read more.