G-2303-18018

Hawaii Public Health Institute (HIPHI) works to improve policies, systems and environments where people live, learn, work, age, and play through: Issue based advocacy; Education; Technical assistance; Capacity building services; Conferences and Trainings. HIPHI is applying for funding as the backbone organization of the Hawaii Oral Health Coalition (HOHC). For context, CareQuest Institute has supported both HIPHI and an organization called Hawaii Children’s Action Network (HCAN) since 2017 to operate different functions of the HOHC. Within this grant year, HIPHI and HCAN will be supported through one proposal, in accordance with recommendations from the grant review committee in 2022.

HIPHI, HCAN, and HOHC collectively celebrated a legislative milestone last year with the passage of extensive Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits in the state of HI. Building on this momentum, HIPHI’s scope of work within 2023 largely involves activities that will promote the successful implementation of this benefit, as well as improve its accessibility to community members, particularly those belonging to historically marginalized groups. Over the next year, HIPHI will continue to effectively manage HOHC’s operations and grow partners and resources in order to support the following priorities:

Support the implementation adult Medicaid dental coverage by establishing community feedback loops and advocating for policies that will increase provider participation;

Advance targeted aspects of value-based care, such as minimally-invasive care and medical-dental integration – specifically, reducing policy barriers to implementation of school sealant programs; and

Build a HOHC policy agenda around increasing the oral health workforce.

Underpinning all of these activities is the development of a 5-year Strategic Plan for the HOHC, including an expanded sustainability plan, for which they’ve received funding from a local foundation.

The budget for this request is $220,000, which is less than the total amount provided to HIPHI and HCAN in 2022, indicating immediate benefits of streamlining the partnership. About $112,000 of the budget is allocated for staff time supporting the scope of work. $11,000 is associated with meeting and communication expenses. Lastly, $71,000 of the budget is associated with a subcontract for HCAN. This request represents 2% of the organization’s overall budget. The project work is also supported by $63,000 from funding sources outside of CareQuest Institute.