Dental care needs funding in Cedar Rapids

Recently President Joe Biden announced that dental care expansion may be taken out of the reconciliation package before Congress. As a dental health care worker, it’s been really frustrating to see this pandemic affect our health care system and then turn around and see our leaders try to separate dental from overall health. Are our teeth not a part of our body?

Medicaid recipients are in a particularly bad situation with many local clinics not accepting Medicaid. What can people who are Medicaid recipients do when they have dental issues? This problem is only getting worse as Iowa is projected to get up to 14,000 new recipients in November and December alone because of the pandemic.

We need local leaders/elected officials to support our smiles. Dental should be addressed by the Cedar Rapids City Council and Linn County Board of Supervisors. Part of the federal money from the American Rescue Plan should support people caring for their dental health. We need to support clinics that accept Medicaid patients and help more people get dental care. This pandemic has made it hard to find a reason to smile, elected officials of Linn County and Cedar Rapids can make it possible.

Angela Weiland

Cedar Rapids