This summer, a federal Judge halted implementation of the Bevin Administration's 1115 Medicaid Waiver, known as, Kentucky HEALTH, and yesterday, the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) issued its re-approval. We appreciate that the 1115 Waiver protects children, pregnant women, former foster youth up to age 26, and adults covered through SSA 1931 from the potential negative impacts of premiums, reduced benefit packages, and lockout periods. However, the re-approval of Kentucky HEALTH will [...]

October is National Dental Hygiene Month, and we’re celebrating dental hygienists across Kentucky! Dental hygienists play a critical role in helping children and adults by examining signs of oral diseases such as gingivitis, educating patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral health, and providing preventative services such as providing fluoride varnish, removing of plaque, and cleaning.  However, the Making Smiles Happen: 2016 Oral Health Study Kentucky Youth tells us that many kids aren’t getting the dental [...]

Louisville, KY – New health insurance data released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that the percent of people with health insurance (of all ages) in Kentucky increased from 85.7 percent in 2013 to 94.6 percent in 2017. Kentucky continues to have the 8th highest rate among states of people with health insurance. The one-year estimates from the American Community Survey also revealed that 96.2 percent of Kentucky children under 19 had health insurance in 2017, [...]

As oral health advocates, we are counting on you to raise your voice by submitting public comments to CMS on the Bevin Administration’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver. Recently, a federal judge halted implementation of the Bevin Administration’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver, also known as Kentucky HEALTH. The Bevin Administration is seeking re-approval of Kentucky HEALTH by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) before it can be implemented. CMS has opened an additional 30-day public comment period [...]

Oral health is an essential component to the overall health and well-being of children and their families. Given our historic issues with poor oral health in Kentucky, we have made strides towards improvement in oral health by increasing access and preventive services. These are reasons why Kentucky Oral Health Coalition executive committee members are glad to see the Bevin Administration’s commitment to restore an essential benefit, such as dental coverage, to Medicaid expansion adults retroactive to July [...]

We are sharing an update regarding an email we sent out yesterday about unintentional denial of Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries. Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) has informed us the Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) has NOT changed any policies relating to the eligibility of pregnant women and children and the denials were related to confusion created by unfamiliarity with the new platform and the hasty transition. CHFS has identified examples where providers have misinterpreted computer screen eligibility [...]

July 5, 2018 - Statement Contact: Mahak Kalra mkalra@kyyouth.org 502-895-8167 *114 Kentucky Oral Health Coalition Statement on Errors in Denying Dental Care for Children and Pregnant Women Louisville, KY – We have heard directly from multiple KOHC dental providers across the state that Medicaid changes over the past few days have resulted in the denial of routine dental care of eligible children and pregnant women. Though these populations were supposed to be protected from coverage changes, errors have meant that children who [...]

On Friday, the federal court blocked the implementation of the Medicaid 1115 waiver, known as Kentucky HEALTH. In response to the Medicaid ruling on Kentucky HEALTH, the Bevin administration announced that Medicaid expansion adults no longer be offered the ability to purchase dental and vision services through their My Rewards account effective July 1, 2018. The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition’s executive committee firmly believes the inclusion of dental coverage should be a key component in [...]

For the last few weeks, the Kentucky Oral Health coalition has highlighted three Bright Spots in Kentucky that improve oral health literacy, deliver school-based services, or improve access to care within the state. Today, we celebrate Madison County Health Department (MCHD), the Bright Spots committee's 4th and final nomination of the year. MCHD was created to bring dental health to students in Madison County Schools. Marsha Deaton, the creator of this nominated Bright Spot program, [...]

As we kick off our third week of Bright Spots acknowledgments, it's clear that there are many oral health influencers who strive to improve oral health literacy, deliver school-based services, and improve accessible care to all throughout the state. This week the KOHC Bright Spots Committee recognizes the Louisville Dental Society (LDS).  LDS free dental van clinic has been in service for two years. The dental van clinic is unique because they rotate among 3-4 areas to provide [...]