FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — All six of Michelle Ehlert’s children have Medicaid plans that should cover their dental care. But for years, she and her husband paid for dental care out-of-pocket — sometimes thousands of dollars a year.
They couldn’t find a dentist near their home in Wilkin County, Minnesota, who accepted Medicaid. When a mobile clinic that would treat Medicaid patients drove nearly 200 miles from Minneapolis to the rural county on Minnesota’s western border, appointments that fit her family’s schedule were “hit-or-miss,” she said.
That all changed when Ehlert’s family found a clinic in neighboring Otter Tail County run by Apple Tree Dental, where dental therapists, who prioritize treating Medicaid recipients, provide much of the clinic’s care.
