Karen Bass defends dental care for homeless meth users, says it’s ‘already paid for’

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that dental care for homeless meth users is “already paid for” by California’s Medi-Cal healthcare program on Friday after facing backlash for her recent comments.

During a mayoral candidate forum last week, Bass went viral after referencing the need for homeless meth users to have working teeth to help rebuild their lives.

“How many people that you meet that are unhoused don’t have teeth at all?” Bass said during an exchange. “They don’t have teeth. Why? Because meth rots your teeth.”

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“You can’t succeed without teeth. So there needs to be comprehensive healthcare provided to people,” she continued.

During an interview with ABC7, Bass stood by her comments and said the care was already available through Medi-Cal when asked who would pay for the dental care that the “unhoused” need.

“So, when I say comprehensive healthcare, it’s actually what people can get from Medi-Cal,” Bass said. “The problem is that the linkage isn’t made with the people and the services, and so — “

“So it would be taxpayers?” ABC7 reporter Josh Haskell asked.

“Well, we already pay for it. It’s already paid for. It’s the linkage that hasn’t happened,” Bass said.

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Haskell then asked Bass what is being done to address the drug crisis, so taxpayers would not have to pay for homeless meth users to receive dental care.

“Let me just tell you that when I came in, we started — even though it is not the city’s role to provide health, it is the county, that was not enough for me,” Bass said. “I said, we have to provide it ourselves, so we took lawsuit money from tobacco, and we established contracts with drug-related organizations, substance abuse organizations, and so some of those people we can refer to a drug treatment program.”

She continued, “The issue with dental is that you want people to be productive. You want them to have a job. You want them to no longer need public assistance. So, while someone is in interim housing waiting for permanent housing, let us help them get their act together, so they will be successful and, down the line, will not need public assistance at all.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Bass’ office for comment.

Bass’ comments come as she faces a competitive re-election challenge against Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman and former reality television star Spencer Pratt. 

Bass has been criticized for her response to the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires and her failure to address the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis.