Texas Dentists Demand Change Amid DentaQuest’s Ongoing Issues
Dentists across Texas are expressing frustration with DentaQuest’s management of Medicaid services, citing network cuts, mismanagement, and unfair recoupment practices. Concerns about DentaQuest’s foreign ownership and profit-driven policies have intensified, with calls for alternative management to protect dentists and patients alike.
Dentists in Texas are voicing significant dissatisfaction with DentaQuest’s oversight of Medicaid dental services, describing practices they believe jeopardize both provider stability and patient care. Complaints include DentaQuest’s desire to limit provider networks, allegedly unjust audit-driven recoupments, and questionable claims processing practices. These issues echo similar frustrations faced by dentists in other states, with Massachusetts already having severed ties with DentaQuest and Louisiana’s legislature scrutinizing its Medicaid role.
One Texas Medicaid dentist argues that DentaQuest’s cost-cutting efforts, under its new parent company Sun Life, come at a steep price for providers. The dentist highlights recent reports of DentaQuest’s abrupt changes, such as removing two-surface filling reimbursements until state intervention, leading to a ripple effect of lost trust and operational challenges.
For many Texas dentists, the impact goes beyond financials. DentaQuest’s actions have left hundreds of patients, particularly seniors and those with disabilities, stranded mid-treatment, fostering a sense of abandonment among some of Texas’ most vulnerable populations. The prospect of network culling has fueled discussions around whether it’s time to replace DentaQuest with more consistent and transparent Medicaid administrators to prevent further disruption and restore stability in Texas Medicaid dentistry. Click here to read more.
