Components of All Dental Expenditure by Sources of Coverage 1996-2016

Objectives: In the United States, dental healthcare expenditures continue to rise, increasing the disparities in healthcare spending between low income, middle-income, and wealthy Americans. Adult dental care is still considered nonessential by many current insurance plans and adult dental expenditure is showing no signs of decline. With demographic changes to a more aging population, Medicare enrollment will be increasing significantly. It is critical to understand sources of dental expenditure coverage in the past and synthesize a viable financing plan for years ahead. This study assessed dental expenditures by covered insurance carriers for the years 1996-2106.
Methods: Data were collected from 1996-2016 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. the Chi-square tests were applied, to determine the differences across various factors in dental care expenditure. The comparisons were also conducted among demographic subgroups. Assessment of the trends in dental care, expenditures by sources of dental insurance coverage was examined.
Results: In the years 1996-2006, dental care expenditures across all age groups increased 1.5 fold for $66 billion to $101.26 billion. Dental care expenditure increased by a multiple of 2.5 form $9.4 billion to $22.51 billion. The changes in dental expenditure over twenty years by Medicaid and private insurance companies varied but with an increasing trend in spending
Conclusions: Dental expenditures showed an increasing trend in all types of insurance coverage. The aging population dental care spending outpaced the general population spending. As the demographics of the U.S. population shift over time, the aging population appears it will outpace growth and dental spending over the next 20 years. The insurance companies including Medicaid will need to make adjustments in order to keep pace with dental care costs associated with growth in the over 65 population.