Laura Marcus

California’s budget has delayed proposed Medi-Cal dental cuts, giving Dientes Community Dental Care and thousands of Santa Cruz County patients a critical one-year reprieve — but the threat has not disappeared, writes Laura Marcus, CEO of Dientes. If the reductions take effect next year, Dientes estimates it could lose $2 million in funding, putting jobs, clinics and care for an estimated 1,800 patients at risk. With nearly 74,000 Santa Cruz County residents relying on Medi-Cal and too few dentists accepting new Medi-Cal patients, protecting access to preventive dental care is both a public health and economic imperative, she writes.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to cut Medi-Cal dental benefits risks repeating California’s costly 2009 mistake, when preventable issues turned into medical emergencies, writes Laura Marcus, CEO of Dientes Community Dental Care. Marcus argues that the proposed budget savings would actually shift higher costs onto hospitals and vulnerable communities. Expanded dental coverage has improved health outcomes and access to care for thousands, she writes, but that progress is now at risk. She says lawmakers face a clear choice: protect preventive care or pay more later for crisis-driven treatment. The vote will happen by June 15.

Medi-Cal dental benefits are again at risk amid a challenging statewide fiscal outlook, writes Dientes CEO Laura Marcus. For Santa Cruz County — where roughly one-third of residents rely on Medi-Cal — potential cuts would directly affect access to essential dental care.