In remarks made at the launch of a major health initiative to improve the health of Michigan residents, Gov. Rick Snyder today highlighted the connection between good oral health and overall health, and praised several oral health initiatives sponsored by the dental profession as part of his plan to make Michigan residents healthier.
The governor also urged legislators to consider expansion of the state’s Healthy Kids Dental program to all of Michigan’s 83 counties in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. Snyder cited the state’s Healthy Kids Dental program as “an excellent program treating a different population in need of care.”
Snyder’s emphasis on oral health was one part of a “four by four” plan unveiled today that encourages healthier lifestyles through eating a healthy diet, regular exercise, annual physicals, and tobacco cessation.
The governor also called on the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to work with the dental community to develop and disseminate education materials to the public and policy makers on the importance of adequate access to health care, the link between oral health and systemic health, and the consequences of not having access to oral health care services.
Snyder gave kudos to the MDA’s Donated Dental Services program and noted the high return on the investment for services provided through the program. Snyder specifically mentioned the MDA and the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped (now known as the Dental Lifeline Network) for starting the program in 1995.
He also cited the importance of Federally Qualified Health Centers and directed the Michigan Department of Community Health to pursue creation of new FQHCs and to seek assistance from the Michigan Congressional delegation to help secure additional funding.
MDA Executive Director Drew Eason, who attended the governor’s news conference at the Heart of the City Health Center in Grand Rapids, said “Gov. Snyder is absolutely right to focus on the return-on-investment of proven programs to make sure taxpayer money is spent wisely. Michigan’s Healthy Kids Dental program is considered a model for the nation, yet it only reaches one-third of Medicaid-eligible children, and few in the state’s largest urban areas.”
He continued, “The MDA has long worked to expand this program so all of Michigan’s disadvantaged children get the vital dental care that is essential to their overall health. With the governor’s leadership, now’s the time to get it done.”
Eason said many of these same recommendations were highlighted in an MDA-sponsored report, “A United Voice for Oral Health,” issued last year by the MDA and widely distributed to legislators and health care policymakers.