After a hint from her own dentist, Sheila Hagar started looking into concerns about the rising numbers of Medicaid kids getting braces in Washington. Hagar, who is medical and social services reporter for the Union-Bulletin, in Walla Walla, sought sources and found statistics that made her jaw drop.
“We should be taking care of people who really have a need,” a frustrated Walla Walla orthodontist, Thomas Utt, D.D.S., told her. “While his office – Walla Walla Orthodontics – is authorized to treat Medicaid-eligible children with braces,” Hagar wrote, “Utt grits his teeth at what he sees as misuse of funds and a lack of clarity over just what ‘medically necessary’ means when it comes to correcting kids’ teeth.”
Here, Hagar tells us more about how she tackled the reporting that led to her July 5 package “State Foots Skyrocketing $27 Million Bill for Braces” and what she is learning about orthodontic benefits under Medicaid. She also shares some wisdom on what to do when no one is returning your calls on an uncomfortable subject. Read how she did her reporting.
