10- 144 C.M.R. ch. 506, § 3

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 144-506-3 - Criteria

A. The Commissioner of Human Services will designate a Dental Care Analysis Area (DCAA) as underserved if it meets the following criteria:

1. The DCAA has a population to dentist ratio of 4000:1 or greater; and,

2. The contiguous area dental care resources are overutilized or excessively distant from the population of the DCAA that is being considered for underserved designation.

a Contiguous area dental care resources will be considered overutilized if the population to dentist ratio of the contiguous area is 2500:1 or greater.

b Contiguous area dental care resources will be considered excessively distant if those dental care providers are located more than 20 miles by secondary roads, 25 miles by primary roads or 30 miles by interstate/turnpike highways from the center of the DCAA being considered for designation as a dental care underserved area.

B. The Commissioner of Human Services may designate a Dental Care Analysis Area as underserved if it has a population to dentist ratio between 3000:1 and 3999:1, if, in his judgment, other factors indicate that the area in question is underserved. Those other factors my include, but not be limited to:

1 More than 50% of the population of the DCAA being considered for designation does not have access to publicly fluoridated water supplies.

2 More than 3,000 visits per year per FTE dentist serving the area.

3 Unusually long waits for appointments for routine dental services, i.e., more than 6 weeks.

4 A substantial proportion (2/3 or more) of the area's dentists do mot accept new patients.

C. The Commissioner of Human Services will consider special area designations on a case by case basis and at the request of community representatives. If either of the following criteria are met:

1 Designation of an underserved dental area to a half-time site due to its small population, (i.e., fewer than 2000 people). A Compact student wishing to earn lost forgiveness say do so upon approval by the Commissioner of Educational and Cultural Services and by agreeing to establish a practice in the half-time area and by doubling the length of stay in that underserved area. Under this option, the Compact dental practitioner would be expected to provide dental care services for at least two days per week with the hours totaling at least 16 per week in the underserved DCAA. The remaining practice time could be spent in a non-designated area.

2 Designation of two DCAAs as one-practice site if neither area, when considered alone, has sufficient population base (i.e., fewer than 2,000 people) to support a dental practice and if the combined areas meet the designation criteria of Section 3A.

D. The Commissioner of Human Services may designate certain population groups as being underserved providing the population in question is suffering from a lack of access to dental health care services. Population group designations may include, but not be limited to:

1 institutional populations;

2 Populations affected by social, economic or demographic barriers.

10- 144 C.M.R. ch. 506, § 3