Health Care For All
1 Federal Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA
United States
Health Care For All (HCFA) advocates for a more equitable, integrated, accessible and affordable oral health system in Massachusetts. HCFA has been a long-term grantee of CareQuest Institute having been funded since 2004.
Over the past 5 years, HCFA has been supported by CareQuest Institute to protect Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits and to drive integration in oral health care in Massachusetts, through the Medicaid 1115 waiver. HCFA also effectively brought community perspective into state-level policy conversations related to oral health through a series of listening sessions and strategic community partners. Among other policy priorities in 2022, HCFA supported the successful passage of a bill establishing a Special Commission on Oral Health, which will be responsible for executing a new oral health disease burden assessment of the state and developing an ongoing surveillance and data plan for oral health. The legislation also intentionally requires diverse representation on the commission as well as an up-front “equity approach” to the data planning, collection and analysis. This milestone will influence a portion of the proposed work in 2023. Health Care For All, in recent funding years, has also been a leader in the field in terms of operationalizing oral health integration into primary care. HCFA has produced significant technical assistance resources for providers, insurers and advocates for the equitable implementation of integration efforts. Lastly, in 2022, HCFA began re-energizing its Oral Health Advocacy Taskforce in person, convening 30+ partners ranging from grasstops to grassroots oral health stakeholders.
In 2023, Health Care For All will advance several oral health policy opportunities, building on momentum from the last grant year:
HCFA will continue its long-term effort to advance integration and value- based care in Medicaid through the maintenance and implementation of the Massachusetts Medicaid 1115 waiver. This administrative policy requires that primary care practices participating in ACOs screen all patients and refer for oral health needs and provide fluoride varnish for children. HCFA will develop new resources and technical assistance for ACOs in implementing these integration practices.
HCFA will advocate for the permanent adoption of telehealth policy in MassHealth.
HCFA also plans to expand the existing Oral Health Advocacy Taskforce in its diversity and reach in Massachusetts, specifically targeting grassroots organizations and those representing historically marginalized groups.
HCFA will work with legislators to introduce and advocate for An Act Increasing Access to MassHealth Dental Providers and An Act to Ensure Equitable Health Coverage for Children. These bills will add incentives for dental providers to served currently “underserved” municipalities and expand MassHealth to all children in the state regardless of immigration status including oral health benefits, respectively. The latter effort is colloquially referred to as the “Cover All Kids” campaign.
HCFA staff will engage in the state budget process to increase funding for the Department of Public Health Office of Oral Health to support the new Special Commission on Oral Health Equity.
Lastly, HCFA will also ensure that existing MassHealth Adult Dental Coverage is protected in the 2023 legislative session.
The work prioritized this year has been informed by data collected through HCFA’s Help Line, which is a healthcare navigation resource that assists consumers with enrolling in healthcare coverage. HCFA received 300+ calls through the Help Line specifically related to accessing oral health in 2022. Additionally, the strategies are informed by the organization’s Health Justice Advisory Council which has recently hosted community listening sessions among underserved groups in MA.
The requested budget of $234,682 represents 3% of the organization’s overall budget. Within the requested budget, approximately $185,000 is allocated toward staff time and benefits. Another $20,000 is allocated toward meeting and event expenses, telecommunications and occupancy. The remainder of the budget is accounted for with indirect expenses. Additionally, HCFA lists $21,000 in the budget in organizational match support for oral health efforts.
The grant review committee recommends funding this proposal in the amount of $215,000. The original request for funding represents an approximately $50,000 increase over last year’s funding amount. This is due to the increased HCFA staff time included to support the Cover All Kids campaign, which CareQuest Institute has not supported in previous years. This work is aligned with CareQuest Institute’s efforts to expand equity through dental benefits. However, having not supported this effort in prior years, the recommendation is to make a smaller investment in this work than initially requested and assess the outcomes of the campaign at the end of year for consideration for further support. Lastly, the grant review committee acknowledged the long-term partnership with HCFA and the significant number of dollars invested. The committee recommends that team members prioritize efforts around additional funding for oral health work, outside of CareQuest Institute, in the upcoming grant year.