Bill > S1125

This bill mandates that the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), a state agency responsible for health and human services programs, design and implement a pilot program to better manage early childhood caries, which refers to tooth decay in young children, among MassHealth patients, a state-funded health insurance program for low-income residents. EOHHS will collaborate with researchers from the Early Childhood Caries (ECC) Management Demonstration Project at Boston Children's Hospital and other sites to establish criteria for identifying children under five at high risk for this condition and to determine what treatments, such as more frequent check-ups, fluoride applications, and family education on managing oral health, should be covered by MassHealth for effective treatment. The bill requires EOHHS to issue a request for proposals to select providers by specific dates, aiming for a program start by July 1, 2016, and to include primary care providers who work alongside oral health providers in the same facilities. Selected providers will be required to report on costs, cavity rates, pain levels, and the need for surgical procedures before and after implementing the new protocol, with EOHHS submitting a report of these findings to legislative committees by February 1, 2019, with the overall goal of reducing costs within the Medicaid program by improving early childhood oral health.