By Elaiza Torralba, UCLA Center for Policy Research, July 28, 2020
A new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that low-income California adults are less likely to receive timely dental care like regular checkups and are more likely to visit the dentist for specific problems than those with higher incomes — a fact that holds true even for low-income residents who have dental insurance.
The study authors found that among those adults with the lowest incomes, 59% had seen a dentist within the last year, compared with 80% for higher-income residents. The disparity persisted even for those with private dental insurance, with 75% of the lowest-income adults and 85% of higher-income residents having had a dental visit in the past year.
The findings are based on an analysis of 2017 and 2018 data from the center’s California Health Interview Survey that looked at how disparities in income and insurance status may affect adult Californians’ access to oral health care. Those with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level were considered to be in the lowest-income category, while higher-income residents had incomes at or above 250% of the FPL.
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