In a small Alabama town, a dentist weighs whether to stop treating kids on Medicaid

[marmar]

In a small Alabama town, a dentist weighs whether to stop treating kids on Medicaid
By: Jon King and Anna Claire Vollers
-
October 26, 2025
8:00 am


FLORENCE, Ala. — Sometimes, in a quiet moment between appointments, Dr. Carson Cruise runs the financial numbers through his head. They make a cold but compelling case: If he dropped all of the Medicaid patients from his small-town pediatric dental practice, he could make the same money while working far fewer hours.

Cruise, 36, owns a dental clinic in the picturesque Alabama town of Florence, home to the University of North Alabama, tucked into the rural northwest corner of the state. He and his wife have two little boys, ages 3 and 5. They sold their small family farm recently because it became too difficult to keep up with it and his practice and still have time for their family.

All of his patients are children. About half of them have their dental care covered by Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program for people with low incomes. They come to his clinic from across the region, he says, and some parents drive from rural communities an hour away. He’s got a waitlist four or five months long.

“I have great relationships with a lot of these families I’ve been seeing for years,” he said. “I don’t want to leave them hanging, but it’s getting to a point where it’s really difficult to keep working at the pace we’re working and seeing the volume that we’re seeing.” .......................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2025/10/26/repub/in-a-small-alabama-town-a-dentist-weighs-whether-to-stop-treating-kids-on-medicaid/

[Diamond_Dog]

1. Are we great yet, MAGAs?

[Jersey Devil]

2. It is a question of morality

Do you become a doctor to help people or to get rich? Such a dilemma. Unfortunately most of the medical profession has chosen the latter, which is not surprising to me given the general moral attitudes of our society.

[NoRethugFriends]

3. He's trying to make a living and still have a life

[dsc]

4. They can't provide care at a loss

I think there is some problem with greedy doctors but the rates of reimbursement are set too low. NC just cut theirs and I imagine we will see several doctors drop patients.

[Hope22]

5. Most of the people where I get dental care are women.

They have babies and young children who are cared for by grandmas and aunts. Sometimes appointments are canceled due to someone in that chain being ill! I think doctors want to help people but keep in mind dentistry is a messy business and these people come into contact with lots of communicable disease. Also there is a high rate of suicide in dentistry. There is that.

[Igel]

6. Years ago I had no insurance and had to go to a doctor.

The bill was unexpectedly large. While doing paperwork, the counter clerk (also the bookkeeper, appointments secretary, receptionist, and sometimes custodian) said that she understood that the fee was really exorbitant, but also said that Medicaid barely covers the salaries for the employees--and insurance isn't that much better. If they didn't charge the really high prices for the uninsured they'd have trouble paying utilities and taxes, and that ignores upgrading or maintaining equipment.

The doctors' cars weren't exactly hiding. And they weren't exactly expensive or even new.

That was 2002 or 2003. Things haven't changed much. And that's the economics.

[ancianita]

7. Working at the volume he's working is help for children, which "weighs" as more important than profit.

Hope he makes the right and moral decision. It's not as if he'll be broke because of it.

[Nittersing]

9. Almost half of his patients are on Medicaid. nt

[PCIntern]

8. As a dentist I can only say...

I fully understand and have “been there”.

[Ping Tung]

10. The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor. Voltaire.

[Blue Full Moon]

11. Not getting dental care can and does kill.

But that is exactly what the republicans want. Yet they holler about abortion.