DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES                               Washington, DC 20201  
                     
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                             SMD#: 10-025 
 
November 30, 2010 
   
   
              RE: Medicaid/CHIP Dental Provider  
                Information 
Dear State Medicaid Director: 
Dear State Health Official: 
 
We are writing today to ask for your help in continuing the efforts underway to improve access 
to dental care for the many millions of children who are enrolled in Medicaid and the Childrens 
Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  As you know, access to dental care has for years been a 
persistent problem for low-income children, with numerous studies documenting high rates of 
dental disease and low rates of children receiving annual visits, even among those children who 
have health coverage through Medicaid or CHIP.  In the past, one of the most frequently cited 
barriers to accessing dental services is the ability to find a dentist who participates in Medicaid.   
 
To make it easier for families to find a participating provider, the Childrens Health Insurance 
Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) required the Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS) to post on the Insure Kids Now website (www.insurekidsnow.gov) a current and accurate 
list, by State, of dentists participating in the Medicaid and CHIP programs. 
 
Since August 2009 your State, along with all other States, has been providing data on dental 
providers participating in Medicaid and CHIP to the Department of Health and Human Services 
on a quarterly basis.  We have been relying on you to provide accurate listings of participating 
providers as required by the statute, and we appreciate your efforts in providing these listings.   
 
However, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review released today (available at 
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1196.pdf) highlights significant inaccuracies in the information 
provided to the Insure Kids Now website. GAOs review of the lists of providers from all fifty 
States revealed missing and incomplete information.  In a detailed check of four States listings 
this summer, reviewers found problems with half of the provider listings that were checked.  
This means not only that InsureKidsNow.gov conveyed inaccurate information to families, but 
also suggests that families looking for a dentist directly from the States Medicaid/CHIP program 
may be receiving inaccurate information or have problems accessing information. We are certain 
that you agree that this needs immediate correction.   
 
We are developing several changes to the Insure Kids Now data collection and validation process 
and will be reaching out to your staff with more information about our expectations for 
improving the quality of the information that is posted on www.InsureKidsNow.gov.  We are 
also interested in your ideas for how to improve the quality of this information and hope you will 
join us in carrying the message to your staff that providing up-to-date, accurate information for 
families is an essential component of any effective strategy to improve childrens access to 
dental care.   
 
   
 
 
Page 2  State Medicaid Directors 
     State Health Officials 
 
Thank you in advance for working with us to ensure that data provided to families in your State 
and for use on the Insure Kids Now website is regularly updated and accurate with respect to 
providers contact information and their capability to accept new patients, and to serve patients 
with special needs.  If you have ideas on how to make this work better at the State and federal 
levels, please contact either of us.  For technical assistance about how to ensure better quality of 
your States dental provider data, or have any questions about the process for data submission 
please contact James Resnick of the Health Resources and Services Administration at 301-443-
3222 or via email at jresnick@hrsa.gov. 
 
        Sincerely, 
 
        /s/ 
 
Cindy Mann          Mary Wakefield 
CMS Deputy Administrator      Administrator 
Director, Center for Medicaid,    Health Resources and Services Administration 
CHIP, and Survey & Certification 
 
 
cc: 
CMS Regional Administrators 
 
CMS Associate Regional Administrators  
Division of Medicaid and Childrens Health 
 
Joy Wilson 
Director, Health Committee 
National Governors Association 
 
Matt Salo 
Director of Health Legislation 
National Governors Association 
 
Debra Miller 
Director for Health Policy 
Council of State Governments  
 
Rick Fenton 
Acting Director 
Health Services Division 
American Public Human Services Association 
 
Andrew Allison 
President 
  National Association of Medicaid Directors 
 
 
Page 3  State Medicaid Directors 
     State Health Officials 
 
Christine Evans, M.P.H. 
Director, Government Relations 
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials 
 
Alan R. Weil, J.D., M.P.P. 
Executive Director 
National Academy for State Health Policy