Posts by Samantha Dorr
A State of Decay Report Underscores Need for Advocacy, Community Engagement in Virginia
Oral Health America’s (OHA) national report A State of Decay, Vol. IV examines key indicators that impact the oral health of older adults in all states. Virginia narrowly earned a “Good” rating with a 70% score, putting us 11th in the nation for our efforts to improve oral health in seniors. With 1.35 million seniors…
Read MoreSign-on to Support an Adult Medicaid Dental Benefit
Fill out my online form. Use Wufoo templates to make your own HTML forms.
Read MoreCHIP Funding Still in Limbo
Congress has not renewed federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), known as FAMIS and FAMIS MOMS in Virginia. If Congress does not renew CHIP funding prior to January 31, 2018, the state will end the program and thousands of children and pregnant women in Virginia will lose affordable medical, dental, and mental health coverage. The…
Read MoreOral Health in Pregnancy and Early Childhood
Date: Thursday, July 13, 2017, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Location: New College Institute, 191 Fayette Street, Martinsville, VA REGISTER View the event flyer Description “Oral Health in Pregnancy and Early Childhood” will explore the role of oral health in a healthy pregnancy and during infancy and early childhood, as well as techniques to improve access…
Read MoreNew Amendments to the American Health Care Act Threaten Coverage and Protections
ALERT: New Amendments to American Health Care Act Harm People with Pre-existing Conditions, Speed Cuts to Medicaid and Fail to Cover Critical Health Services The House could vote as early as Friday on the American Health Care Act with new amendments that further strip away coverage and protections for Americans. The House Freedom Caucus agreed to…
Read MoreNew Online Resource Reinforces Integrated Care
Integrating oral health into all aspects of health care can expand access to oral health services, enhance comprehensive health care, and improve patient wellness. Health providers from multiple disciplines can deliver oral health services, education and referrals in most care settings, and dental providers can offer similar clinical services. In many instances, these services are…
Read MoreKids’ Coverage Matters
Did you know over 100,000 children in Virginia are eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid or Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS)? FAMIS provides affordable health, dental and mental health coverage to children and pregnant women living in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance. FAMIS…
Read MoreImportant Update to Fluoride Varnish Billing Code for Medical Providers
Our partners in primary care do an outstanding job to integrate oral health services, with key, collaborative support from the dental community. Following this, we are making partners aware of an important code change that will affect medical providers who bill Medicaid for fluoride varnish application. (There is no change for dental providers.) Medical Providers Only: Beginning March 1, 2015, physicians and other qualified…
Read MoreVirginian-Pilot Article Highlights Dental Issues Faced by Adults with Special Needs
On January 2, 2015, the Virginian-Pilot published the article “Special-needs patients face difficulties with dental care,” highlighting the issues that adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities may face when accessing dental care. The article mentioned the Coalition's recent program, funded by the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, that aimed to increase the number of Virginia…
Read MoreDental Program Brings Care to People with Developmental Disabilities
Chesapeake, Va. Adults with developmental disabilities will receive free oral health services on Saturday, October 18 through a training program designed to teach dental providers how to care for individuals with special health care needs. Dentists are unlikely to receive this type of specialized training in dental school, and many people with developmental disabilities lack…
Read More