G-2303-18066

Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) is a trusted, independent voice for Kentucky’s children. The organization has worked for over 40 years to improve children's well-being through public policies that influence the lives of children and families.

KYA is a longstanding CareQuest Institute partner and has received grant funding to sustain and expand their continued management of the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition (KOHC) as well as their advocacy to the state’s Medicaid program to include dental benefits for adult members. In late 2022, Kentucky’s governor approved an expansion of the Medicaid program that included dental and vision benefits for more than 900,000 Kentuckians. Unfortunately, the state senate took legislative action to nullify the expansion (Senate Bill 65) and was successful in repealing the expansion, leaving almost one million people who had only just received access to care, without it.

The KOHC continues to serve as the leading advocacy organization for oral health policy and, while efforts to combat the nullification of the Medicaid expansion were unsuccessful, found victory in maintaining Kentucky’s strong community water fluoridation across the state. KYA and the KOHC were also successful in making amendment recommendations to the final Senate Bill 65 that included: 1) clarification that provider rate increases are allowable without legislative action and could be maintained once expanded services are removed, and 2) ensuring that those in active treatment plans have a clear period of time after the bill takes effect to complete that treatment.

This proposal introduces a scope of work that is responsive to the recently expanded and nullified Medicaid dental benefit. The sudden expansion was a major win, but it also exposed a myriad of informational and communication gaps between community members, dental providers, and other healthcare entities. KYA will continue and complete their oral health landscape assessment to better identify and understand the communities’ needs to successfully access and utilize a dental benefit in the future based on their recent and prior experiences. Additionally, the organization plans to prioritize its collaboration with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to ensure that advocacy discussions maintain their momentum and the existing and incoming Governor’s offices are in agreement with the legislature regarding the need for Medicaid expansion and state budget investments that support increased reimbursement rates for providers, which have not changed in more than two decades.

KOHC is positioned to influence key policymakers on oral health and health equity issues through its strong relationships with state government officials, including the Department of Medicaid, state dental director, state legislature, and the Governor’s Office. The organization will leverage these relationships to educate leaders in the House and Senate as well as identify new oral health champions for direct legislative advocacy and consumer story-sharing.

This proposal includes a grant funding request for $150,000, which amounts to approximately 3% of the organization's overall budget. Most grant funds will support personnel for KYA's oral health policy work and coordination of the KOHC ($103,385) while remaining grant funds will be applied to contracts with organizational partners ($10,000), in-person meetings and conference attendance, communications, and office materials. The proposal is aligned with CareQuest Institute’s strategic goal to expand Medicaid benefits, but is being recommended for funding at $125,000, reflective of previous discussions with the organization regarding some of the requested budget items as well as organizational sustainability.