Discount dental care, medical debt update, and other stories

Hey there—

Staying on top of the news these days is a job all on its own. And it can definitely be overwhelming if you’re a newsletter junkie like me. (I may or may not have over…600 unread emails right now. )

But a new month feels like the perfect time to catch up on health care stories that might not have made the headlines — something our team tries to stay on top of.

So here’s some of what we’ve been passing around recently — and what you’ve been messaging us about! — starting with something our own editor sunk her teeth into:

What it’s like to go for lower-cost dental care at dental school

We don’t have to tell you: Dental care is expensive. Health insurance doesn’t cover it. And, as this KFF Health News story shows: Dental insurance doesn’t cover it much either.

But that story also includes a tip that surprised me: you may be able to find discounted care at a dental school.

I knew about discount haircuts at beauty schools, but cleanings? Fillings? Root canals?! News to me.

But not to this newsletter’s editor, Emily Pisacreta, who, it turns out, actually tried it a couple years ago.

The upshot: It was long, and it wasn’t free — but it was cheaper. And it was interesting.

“It was one of the most crowded waiting rooms I’ve ever been in, but also among the friendliest,” she said. “The staff were developing relationships with people in there for ongoing treatments — just like Dr. Kutz, the chilled-out suburban dentist I went to as a kid.”

And she says the exam — which took place on an open floor, between semi-private room dividers — was extra-thorough. The student took a good, hard look at Emily’s mouth and narrated everything she saw to an observing faculty dentist. She also screened her for head, neck, and throat cancers (a first for Emily, as far as she knows).

The longest — and hardest — part was the X-rays. “They couldn’t get the angle right on the little piece of paper in my mouth and kept complaining that my palate was abnormally small for an adult,” she said. “After about ten tries, I had to hold it myself, and I’m not really sure how much extra radiation that exposed me to.”

And: The cleaning would take place at a whole separate appointment — which she didn’t learn until after the X-ray ordeal.

Emily’s teeth were in shipshape, so she only had to pay for the exam and cleaning — totaling $150 upfront. She doesn’t know how much it would’ve cost if she needed a filling or anything else — but the school says they charge about half the price of the area average.

After this experience, her advice to folks considering this option is: “Know it’s gonna take much longer than a normal dental appointment. And be ready for unsolicited commentary.”

States leveling up on medical debt protections

Back in December, we reported on a new law that passed in Maine banning medical debt from credit reports. Now, the staff of that bill’s sponsor, Senator Donna Bailey, tells us that Maine is poised to take medical debt protections to the next level — blocking collectors from garnishing the wages of people who owe medical debt — and from putting liens on their homes.

If this bill gets the governor’s stamp of approval, it would make Maine one of fewer than a dozen states with this trifecta of medical debt protections.

Lawmakers in other states have been pushing bills to keep collectors from taking a portion of people’s paychecks — with mixed success.

In February, KFF Health News reported that Colorado and at least seven other states were taking up bills to prevent wage garnishment on medical debt. But lawmakers in Colorado and Florida have since rejected those proposals.

The Commonwealth Fund tracks state protections for people with medical debt. Check out their map here. (Use the pull-down menu and select “Billing and Collections.”)

Insurance coverage for vaccines

Another legal update, this one from the courts: A federal judge just hit pause on efforts by Sec. Robert F Kennedy Jr. and his health administration to cut child vaccine recommendations.

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed last summer by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups.

The hold is temporary — but as of now, insurance companies are now required to cover all the vaccines they were covering in January 2025, including for the flu, COVID-19, and Hepatitis B.

Before this ruling, insurers had promised to continue guaranteeing immunization coverage without cost-sharing through 2026, but their long-term coverage remained uncertain.

Who HSAs really work for

A couple of you forwarded this story from Popular Information about the successful political maneuvering — and explosive growth — of Health Equity, the largest administrator of health-savings accounts.

Recent changes from the Trump administration allowed HSAs to be tied to more insurance plans. And now Health Equity is pushing to allow HSAs to be used to pay for health insurance premiums.

We’re definitely keeping our eyes on this. But for now, it’s important to know, as Judd Legum writes: If you’re not making over 100 grand, an HSA – which may be laden with junk fees – probably isn’t worth it for you.

Docs charging for prior auth requests

According to reporting from MedPage Today, some doctors are now charging patients for prior authorizations. 

If this is something you’ve run into, or you work for a hospital or medical practice doing this, we’d love to hear from you.

The Pitt Season 2 is almost over

In an interview covered by The Hollywood Reporter, Noah Wyle, the executive producer and star of the Emmy-winning medical drama The Pitt, voiced his support for universal health care coverage, saying, “I personally think we need some sort of national health care service in the United States.”

Which is maybe not surprising given how The Pitt spotlights the financial dynamics at play in hospitals, and what it means for patients to get sick without health insurance. Dr. Robbie, we salute you!

Have you been watching the show? We want to hear your thoughts on this season!

That’s all from me! We’ll catch you next week.

— Claire