Press & Media

Throughout the day, senior health care executives and health policy leaders took the stage at the 2020 Washington State of Reform Health Policy Conference to offer quick insights into their thinking on Washington State health care and health policy in 2020. This conversation features Arcora Foundation President & CEO Diane Oakes.

An innovative oral health program that has helped hundreds of thousands of lower-income children and established Washington state as a national leader in children’s dental care access turns 20.

A Washington oral health program for children is celebrating 20 years of caring for kids. The Access to Baby and Child Dentistry program, or ABCD, actually started in Spokane in 1995 at a time when only one-in-five children received dental checkups.

Amidst all of the political noise in recent weeks, the House of Representatives passed a policy that could transform health care for tens of millions of Americans. It may even be something that will please everyone.

An innovative oral health program that has helped hundreds of thousands of lower-income children and established Washington state as a national leader in children’s dental care access turns 20.

Rural communities across America struggle to find adequate dental care nearby, which means oral health can be neglected until it manifests into an urgent medical issue.

Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD), an oral health program which connects Medicaid-insured children up to age six with dentists specially trained to treat babies, toddlers and preschoolers, is celebrating its twenty year anniversary.

Lack of health coverage has been a persistent problem in the U.S. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to address gaps in the health coverage system and led to historic gains in health insurance coverage by extending Medicaid coverage to many low-income individuals and providing Marketplace subsidies for individuals below 400% of poverty.

Surveys of Washington residents show that oral health problems occur in all communities and populations, but are more common among communities of color and people with lower incomes.  When it comes to oral health, disparities are widespread and profound.

Scott Kennedy, MD is the Chief Medical Officer at the Olympia Medical Center in Port Angeles.  He is also a board member at the Arcora Foundation, one of the nation’s largest foundations focused on oral health. Dr. Kennedy joins us for this edition of “What They’re Watching” to speak to the intersection of oral health with…