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Take Two

Restoration of Medi-Cal dental coverage comes too late for many

By Take Two Staff
Published Feb 3, 2014
Five of Miriam Martinez's molars have had to be extracted because of decay. "If I'd had dental insurance, I'd still have my teeth," the 52-year-old said.
Five of Miriam Martinez's molars have had to be extracted because of decay. "If I'd had dental insurance, I'd still have my teeth," the 52-year-old said.
(
Adrian Florido
)
Five of Miriam Martinez's molars have had to be extracted because of decay. "If I'd had dental insurance, I'd still have my teeth," the 52-year-old said.
Five of Miriam Martinez's molars have had to be extracted because of decay. "If I'd had dental insurance, I'd still have my teeth," the 52-year-old said.
(
Adrian Florido
)

Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.

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Restoration of Medi-Cal dental coverage comes too late for many

The Affordable Care Act has expanded medical coverage for people of all ages, but dental coverage is a different story.

The federal law requires it be made available only to children. That means in California, millions of adults — many of them poor — do not have dental care. That'll change in May when the state restores a low-income dental program it cut a few years ago.

But KPCC's Adrian Florido reports dentists say a lot of damage has been done in the meantime.