Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
200 American Metro Blvd STE 119
Hamilton, NJ
United States
The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is a non-profit policy organization dedicated to improving the health of low-income Americans.
We have partnered with CHCS for a number of projects including the State Oral Health Leadership Institute, a Social Determinants of Oral Health Learning Collaborative, and last year’s report that was published assessing the current state of the field regarding value-based payment models in oral health.
In building from that work, CHCS will lead a research project to dig more intently into assessing oral health equity, how it does exist or could exist in correlation with state Medicaid programs, with a focus on adults. The work will seek to uncover specific challenges that contribute to, and perpetuate, oral health inequities by looking at both consumer-level barriers and system-level barriers. They will also uncover emerging opportunities to reduce oral health related disparities for Medicaid-enrolled adults while elevating what resources and inputs might improve oral health equity. The research process will entail an environmental scan and literature review, as well as a series of up to 15 key informant interviews. Examples of interviewees include state Medicaid programs, health plans, providers, and consumers or community-based organizations. In these interviews, CHCS will seek to unpack the following three questions:
-What does oral health equity mean in Medicaid?
-What key levers and emerging opportunities could be used to advance oral health equity efforts, such as value-based payment, integrated care models, etc.?
-What unintended consequences could and should stakeholders seek to avoid?
CHCS will work closely with CareQuest Institute teams to identify interviewees, develop interview questions, and to synthesize and interpret the data that will inform a report that will be published.
The budget for this proposal is $89,974 which goes to staff time and supplies to carry out the project. The total organizational budget for the CHCS is $11M, which makes this grant less than 1% of the overall budget.