A free clinic organized by Remote Area Medical (RAM) at Takoma Academy treated 467 patients on October 17 and 18; most received dental and/or medical care, KFF Health News reported. RAM’s event listing said care was free and available without identification, insurance, or proof of income.
The clinic had no appointment system: RAM said service tickets were assigned by arrival time and patients had to remain on site to keep their place. The event listing said doors would open at 6 a.m., there would be no indoor waiting area beforehand, and patients would wait in the parking lot without heated or cooled shelter. In reporting republished by The Philadelphia Inquirer, KFF Health News reported that some attendees spent the night in their vehicles.
The event brought together more than 300 dental, medical, and vision professionals and members of the U.S. Public Health Service, according to the Inquirer’s account of KFF Health News reporting. KFF reported that 99 patients received vision exams and the clinic produced 152 pairs of glasses. It also reported that 30 dental treatment tents were set up in the gymnasium.
Medical clinic nurse specialist Dana Bensinger told KFF Health News that many patients she saw had high blood pressure or diabetes. Patients received prescriptions for a 90-day supply of medication and advice to seek follow-up through community health centers or free clinics, the report said. KFF also reported that one in four clinic patients had health coverage. A RAM survey cited in the same reporting found that nearly 40% had not seen a dental provider outside a RAM clinic in at least two years, while nearly two-thirds said they had no usual place to seek care other than a hospital emergency room.
Maryland’s adult dental coverage
According to the Maryland Department of Health’s 2023 Annual Oral Health Legislative Report, the state’s adult Medicaid dental expansion provides comprehensive services to more than 860,000 adults. That figure describes the reach of the expansion; it does not establish how common difficulty getting needed dental care is among Maryland adults overall.
