As a nonpartisan legislative branch agency, MACPAC plays a key role in advising Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and states on policies and practices to advance the goals of Medicaid and CHIP and address the needs of the populations they serve. In fulfilling this role, MACPAC wishes to extend its previous work examining access to dental care among adults by looking specifically at adults with I/DD to determine factors affecting access to needed care.

Mathematica conducted a literature review to understand the oral health needs and the dental service utilization of adults with I/DD in Medicaid. The literature review examined what is known about access to oral health services for adults with I/DD, barriers to access, and state Medicaid agency approaches to improve access. Mathematica also conducted key informant interviews in four states, which included state Medicaid officials, as well as subject matter experts and beneficiary advocates. These interviews furthered Mathematica’s understanding of how states use different federal policy levers to improve access and the approaches for addressing any challenges. MACPAC intends to use this work to develop an issue brief describing state Medicaid approaches to ensuring access to dental services for adults with I/DD as well as the challenges.