dqf2019083

National: Support to the Medicaid-CHIP State Dental Association (MSDA) to coordinate the development of a socio-economic return on investment analysis that informs the knowledge base necessary for policy makers and other oral health stakeholders to maintain and promote Medicaid oral health benefit programs across the country. Specifically, MSDA will contract with and provide oversight to Brandeis University, Heller School of Social Policy and Management to study the socio-economic impact of poor oral health and/or lack of dental insurance and develop a conceptual model that will consider the implications of providing an adult dental benefit for Medicaid beneficiaries. Additionally, MSDA will update and make the National Profile of State Medical and CHIP Oral Health Programs available online as a public resource. Both deliverables will assist policy makers in evaluating the real economic cost of oral diseases and provide them with the evidence needed to understand the real impact of oral health endemic and find the appropriate channels to address it. This information will support the Oral Health 2020 Goal 1 of mandatory inclusion of an adult dental benefit in publicly funded health insurance and the specific target that at least 30 states have a comprehensive Medicaid adult dental benefit. $399,049 will support personnel, consultants, data purchase, and data analysis needed to implement the project.