To examine receipt of early childhood caries preventive services () in two states' Medicaid programs before and after the implementation of reimbursement to medical primary care providers (M‐s).
Enrollment and claims data from the Florida and Texas Medicaid programs for children ≤54 months of age during the period 2006–2010.
We conducted time trend‐adjusted, difference‐in‐differences analyses by using modified Poisson regressions combined with generalized estimating equations (s) to analyze the effect of M‐ reimbursement on the likelihood that an enrollee had an visit after controlling for age, sex, health status, race/ethnicity, geographic location, and enrollment duration.
Enrollment data were linked to claims data to create a panel dataset with child‐month observations.
Reimbursement to M‐s was associated with an increased likelihood of receipt in general and topical fluoride application specifically in both states.
Reimbursement to M‐s can increase access to . However, receipt continues to fall short of recommended care, presenting opportunities for performance improvement.
