California Healthline

Medi-Cal’s dental care gap: Getting a tooth pulled is easy — much harder to get an implant

California is among a growing number of states that provide dental benefits to adults enrolled in Medicaid, yet many dentists don’t accept Medi-Cal.

Long Beach Watchdog

Aug 10, 2024 — 5 min read

Bobby Moske of San Rafael, California, had to get his tooth pulled after waiting months for authorization for a root canal under Medi-Cal. Now he wants implants, but Medi-Cal won’t cover it. (Loren Elliott for KFF Health News)

By Molly Castle Work, California Healthline

When Bobby Moske went to a community clinic a few years ago with a toothache, he couldn’t find a dentist in Marin County willing to take Medicaid to do a root canal.

Marin Community Clinics referred the 75-year-old to a dentist about 20 miles away in San Francisco, but his tooth decayed while he waited months for authorization to cover the procedure. In the end, his tooth was pulled.

Cars driving past a variety of two-story buildings.

Parking minimums in Long Beach could be changed as proposal heads to City Council

One of the changes would end parking minimums from changing for businesses that are taking over Long Beach storefronts in buildings over 10 years old.

A person stands next to book shelves and a poster that says "Let your librarian be your guide."

The importance of Long Beach’s queer history

During “Discovering Long Beach’s Unknown Queer History” on Saturday, Phillip Zonkel and other panelists hope to shed some light on the city's often overlooked past.

Critically Speaking: We've chipped away at the Digital Divide

But the end of a federal subsidy could make things worse in Long Beach.

A person stands next to a cat tree with multiple cats resting on it and looking very happy.

Scratch This: It's all things cat in the newest cat meetup joint in town!

The Cool Cat Collective is a purrfect (sorry) addition to a cool stretch of street!