The Role of Comprehensive Adult Medicaid Dental Benefit in Improving and Advancing Oral Health among Adults and Children

Even though it is well established that oral health is integral to overall health, economic productivity, and well-being, it remains the most common unmet health need in the US. Low-income individuals carry a significantly high burden of dental disease, highlighting a lack of access to oral health care. A large proportion of these groups rely on Medicaid, but unlike children, federal law does not mandate dental coverage for adults, and coverage varies by state, leaving many uninsured or underinsured. Starting July 2021, Virginia expanded dental coverage for all Medicaid-enrolled adults (up to 138% of FPL), providing access to comprehensive dental care to thousands of adults for the first time. This dental policy change provides a unique opportunity, a 'natural experiment,' to gain a deeper and clearer understanding of the effect of implementing a comprehensive dental benefit on the oral health of Medicaid enrollees and fill a critical gap in oral health services research. The purpose of the proposed K08 research project is to evaluate the role of Virginia's comprehensive adult Medicaid dental policy in improving and advancing dental care utilization and access among the Medicaid population. The project will: 1) examine the demand for dental services among Medicaid-enrolled adults following the implementation of the dental benefit, 2) evaluate the impact of dental benefit on the use of the emergency department (ED) for dental visits by comparing adults enrolled in Medicaid with those having private insurance, and 3) assess the effect of the Medicaid adult dental benefit on children's dental care use. Data sources will include multi-year claims data from the Virginia Medicaid program and Virginia All Payers Claims Data that will be linked with the county-level workforce and community data on social factors from multiple sources. Causal inference methods and advanced econometric and data science approaches, such as difference-in-difference and interrupted time series, will be used to isolate the policy's effect on measured oral health outcomes. The primary goal of this K08 application is to advance the candidate's (Dr. Naavaal) research career by protecting her time to acquire training in health policy, econometrics, and data science and gain research experience in applying these methods to conduct rigorous oral health services and health policy research. This goal will be accomplished through executing proposed research supported by carefully planned training objectives and intensive career development activities. The proposed research outcomes will generate the evidence needed to inform strategies and multi-level approaches needed to advance oral health for all and maximize oral health gains. The expertise and guidance of the multi-disciplinary mentoring and advisory teams, in addition to the wealth of resources and commitment to training provided through the institutional environment, will ensure the success of the candidate's research project and enable her to establish a robust research program as an independent research investigator.