G-2407-21928

Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI) is a membership-based consumer advocacy organization that works collaboratively to improve the equity, access, and affordability of healthcare for Coloradans.

With a long history of successfully advocating for change on both the federal and state levels, CCHI continues their advocacy work through this grant in several areas. At the federal level, CCHI will continue to advocate for more robust oral health coverage in Medicare and to advance and protect federal rule and regulation changes to improve oral health in commercial coverage. At the state level, CCHI seeks to influence Colorado’s Medicaid coverage and commercial oral health coverage system in several ways. Protecting recently expanded oral health coverage, which is now at risk due to the state exceeding their Medicaid budget, is at the forefront. Also understanding and advancing coverage and reimbursement for minimally invasive case services that can improve health equity outcomes is of importance. Commercially, obtaining an actuarial analysis of adding adult dental coverage to the state’s essential health benefits benchmark and advocating for the state to conduct this analysis is a large opportunity in 2025. This will help advocate for adding adult dental to the essential health benefits benchmark through the regulatory process or prepare legislation to achieve this.

This grant will also focus on continuing to influence the state’s oral health coalition to ensure community voices are engaged and centered in the coalition’s priorities, operations, and decision making. CCHI will push for continued outreach by the coalition convener, support community and BIPOC organizations to engage with knowledge sharing and subgrants and serve as a voice for community needs and interest in the coalition. By leading from within, CCHI positions themselves to enable all community voices to have a seat at the table without sacrificing time fighting against institutionalized power dynamics.

This request is for $175,000, which is less than 10% of the organization’s overall budget. The grant funds will support staff time, software upgrades and interpretation/translation services, and subgrants to community based and partner organizations to strengthen reach as an organizing approach for coalition work.