Barriers to Medicaid Participation among Florida Dentists

BACKGROUND: Finding dentists who treat Medicaid-enrolled children is a struggle for many parents. The purpose of this study was to identify non-reimbursement factors that influence the decision by dentists about whether or not to participate in the Medicaid program in Florida. METHODS: Data from a mailed survey was analyzed using a logistic regression model to test the association of Medicaid participation with the Perceived Barriers and Social Responsibility variables. RESULTS: General and pediatric dentists (n=882) who identified themselves as either Medicaid (14%) or Non-Medicaid (86%) participants responded. Five items emerged as significant predictors of Medicaid participation, with a final concordance index of 0.905. Two previously unreported barriers to participation in Medicaid emerged: 1) dentists' perception of social stigma from other dentists for participating in Medicaid, and 2) the lack of specialists to whom Medicaid patients can be referred. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new information about non-reimbursement barriers to Medicaid participation.