1601-11871

National: This investment supports the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) to highlight promising practices around outreach, engagement, and financing of oral health services for seniors and people with disabilities. Building on the work done in Year 1, NASUAD will work to expand oral health discussions in health and Medicaid-covered LTSS public policymaking and support expanded access to oral health services for older adults and for those with disabilities on Medicaid. It will do so by engaging a core group of states to help improve policies regarding oral health benefits and services, implementing targeted outreach and awareness-building activities, and developing informational and technical assistance materials to provide state programs with examples of promising and innovative practices and policies. This initiative will help present the information and best practices in a manner that is useful for policymakers and public health stakeholders around the country. This work will primarily contribute to achieving the Oral Health 2020 goals of including an adult dental benefit in publicly funded health coverage, and improving the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health. $299,649 will support staffing, travel, meeting expenses, and administrative costs associated with the implementation of this work.