Blog | March 20, 2020
Spokane’s legacy of oral health care innovation needs to be expanded

We all need to encourage policymakers to continue to support vital public health programs such as Apple Health dental.

Arcora Foundation, a Seattle-based nonprofit funded by Washington’s largest dental benefits provider, Delta Dental of Washington (DDWA), has provided $1,085,000 in grants to 17 tribes in Washington state. The funds will help the tribes’ dental clinics meet essential oral health needs amidst the pandemic.

Cuts to preventative care programs like adult dental will ultimately cost the system more, advocates say. Medical problems become worse if dental services are delayed, and people will be forced to use the emergency room for urgent care, said Misha Werschkul, executive director of the Budget and Policy Center, a research organization that is focused…

(Tony) Lee, former advocacy director at the anti-poverty organization Solid Ground, fundamentally changed what it was like to live in Washington for people who live at the margins.

State lawmakers have cut the benefit before. It resulted in years of poor health outcomes for many.

More than 1 million Washingtonians are at risk of losing their Medicaid dental coverage, including many of the folks facing the worst health and economic consequences of the pandemic…