G-2105-16978

This is a collaborative proposal between Children’s Action Alliance (CAA) and the Arizona Oral Health Coalition (AZOHC). Children’s Action Alliance is the state children’s policy organization and an independent voice for Arizona children at the state capitol and in the community. They are also the backbone of the state oral health coalition and served as a Grassroots Lead Organization in our Grassroots Initiative.

The work of CAA and the AZOHC has been largely two-fold: 1) increase the presence of historically marginalized communities in oral health policy decisions that impact them the most and 2) advancing equitable oral health policies to expand workforce, coverage and utilization of care. In 2020, CAA produced a Network Adequacy Assessment for pediatric Medicaid access and are currently partnering with the CareQuest Institute A&E team on a Medicaid pediatric utilization disparities report.

This proposal falls under the Advancing Equity funding initiative, and the Strengthen Community Voice and State Advocacy sub-initiative and seeks to expand Medicaid adult dental coverage for pregnant women. Currently, Arizona has an emergency only benefit for beneficiaries with a cap of $1,000. In 2020, Arizona was on the precipice of passing legislation to expand coverage for pregnant women, but it was removed due to the budgetary threats of COVID-19. Additionally, as opportunities for teledentistry in the state have grown, CAA and the AZOHC have identified a need to identify key legislative rules that would allow for Affiliated Practice Dental Hygienists to deliver and bill for care via telehealth. As well, based on some analysis, CAA and AZOHC want to facilitate some implicit bias learning opportunities through a series of sessions that will strengthen the capacity of providers, payers, and administrators around motivational interviewing, recognizing and challenging stigma, social determinants of health, and cultural competency. Lastly, CAA and AZOHC have identified extreme administrative burdens on current and former foster youth in being able to access needed orthodontic care. With this in mind they would like to collect data, produce a report, and push for regulatory change to make care more accessible for this special population.

The budget for this proposal is $175,000, which supports both Children’s Action Alliance and the Arizona Oral Health Coalition. Of that, roughly $120,000 goes to staff time, travel, and supplies associated with fulfilling the deliverables. There is an additional $55,000 in support of contracted services associated with two studies that will be used to advance the above-mentioned policies.

CAA has an organizational budget of about $1.75M, which means that this grant represents about 10% of their total budget.