Back in March, TDMR published an article on the number of active THSteps Enrolled Dental Providers obtained from an open records request filed with Texas Health and Human Services.
Records since 1996
Texas HHS has been compiling these figures since 1996, when the Frew case consent decree came into force. The report breaks down participation into low-volume, mid-volume and high-volume providers. A low-volume provider serves less than 30 Medicaid patients, mid-volume 30 to 99, and high volume over 100.
Latest report
The latest report shows the final figures for 2022 and the first and second-quarter reports for 2023.
In 2022, the total number of active Medicaid dentists declined from 4,140 in 2022 to 4,115, a very slight amount.
The percentage of low-volume providers dropped to its lowest percentage since 2011, however. High-volume providers continue to take on the bulk of Medicaid patients. at 67%. Just looking at the quarterly figures for 2023, this trend looks like it will increase further.
The largest number of active dental providers in the THSteps program occurred in 2019, with 4,156. The total has been wavering lower since that time despite increased program participants.
Trend continues for 2023
Quarterly figures for 2023 seem to indicate there will be fewer active providers in 2023, but the final figures for 2023 will not be available until sometime mid-2024.