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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said dental care for homeless users is “paid for” by California’s Medi-Cal health plan Friday after facing criticism for her recent comments.
During a mayoral candidate forum last week, Bass passed away after pointing out the need for homeless meth users to have working teeth to help rebuild their lives.
“How many homeless people do you meet with no teeth at all?” Bass said during the exchange. “They don’t have teeth. Why? Because meth rots your teeth.”
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass previously suggested that homeless meth users need to get dental care with “holistic health care.” (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
“You can’t be successful without teeth. So people need to get comprehensive health care,” he continued.
During an interview with ABC7, Bass stood by his words and said care was now available through Medi-Cal when asked who would pay for the dental care needed by the “homeless”.
“So, when I say comprehensive health care, that’s actually what people can get from Medi-Cal,” Bass said. “The problem is that communication is not done with people and services, so-“
“So it would be the taxpayers?” ABC7 reporter Josh Haskell asked.
“Well, we’re already paying for it. It’s already paid for. It’s a connection that hasn’t happened yet,” Bass said.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass defended her comments about dental care for the “homeless” during a local interview. (Getty Images)
Haskell then asked Bass what was being done to deal with the drug problem, so that taxpayers could pay for homeless meth users to get dental care.
“Let me tell you that when I came in, we started – even though it’s not the city’s role to provide health care, it’s the county, that wasn’t enough for me,” Bass said. “I said, we have to provide for ourselves, so we took the case money from tobacco, and we established contracts with drug-related organizations, drug-using organizations, so some of those people we can refer to the drug treatment program.”
He continued, “The issue with the dentist is that he wants people to be productive. He wants them to find a job. He wants them to no longer discuss public assistance. Therefore, since a person lives in temporary housing while waiting for permanent housing, let’s help him get his act together, so that he can succeed and, on the bottom, he will not need public assistance at all.”
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Former television star Spencer Pratt is running against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to lead the nation’s second largest city. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images; Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass’ office for comment.
Bass’ comments come as he faces a competitive re-election challenge against Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman and former television star Spencer Pratt.
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Bass has been criticized for his response to the devastating Los Angeles fires of 2025 and his failure to address the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis.
Adam Pack of Fox News contributed to this report.
