DAY 1: TUESDAY, JANUARY 11TH, 2022
Advancing Oral Health Equity through
Inclusion, Access, Accountability, and Artificial Intelligence
ALL SESSIONS ARE LISTED IN EASTERN TIME
10:00—10:15 PRESIDENTS’ WELCOME: Alani Jackson, California DHCS
10:15—11:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
Focusing on Equity in Oral Healthcare—Why Now and How?
Our Keynote speaker will address Equity from the federal perspective and what it means for oral healthcare and stakeholders working in the government space.
- Natalia Chalmers, DDS, MHSc, PhD, Chief Dental Officer, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Sponsor: Elevate Oral Care
?11:00—12:30 SESSION 1: Understanding the Problems
Session I will open with a video developed and published by students from the Spanish Filmmaking class at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester Massachusetts. Each year students partner with community groups to develop a video promoting social justice. This year the HC students partnered with MSDA to ‘Give Voice’ to adult Medicaid beneficiaries.
Attendees will learn why access to dental care is so important to these individuals. Dr. Renee Joskow will follow. Her presentation will address barriers and challenges to achieving equitable oral health from the policy and program perspectives. She will provide highlights from the recently released 2021 NIH Oral Health Report.
- “Giving Voice”
- Renée Joskow DDS, MPH, FAGD, FACD, FICD, CAPT, U.S. Public Health Service, Senior Advisor to the Director, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH
- Sponsor: MCNA Dental
1:30—3:00 SESSION 2: Identifying Solutions: Inclusion and Access
Problems in Medicaid are multi-pronged, and as such need a multi-pronged approach to solve. In Session 2 we will lay out potential strategies for solving issues related to inclusion and access. Medicaid administrators and contract vendors will provide innovative examples of how their programs are addressing these issues.
- Moderator: Marty Dellapenna, RDH, MEd—MSDA Policy Center Director
- Panelist: Michele Griguts, DDS—NYSDPH Dental Director?
- Panelist: Alani Jackson, MPA--CA DHCS
- Panelist: Sam Zwetchkenbaum, DMD, MPH--RI EOHHS
- Panelist: Sarah Finne, DMD, MPHA
- Sponsor: Delta Dental of South Dakota
?3:30—5:00 SESSION 3: Ensuring Network Adequacy
Session 3 will explore Network Adequacy. Panelists will address the questions: What constitutes Network Adequacy? How is it measured? Are such measures consistent across States—across oral health plans? How can administrators ensure that their dental provider networks are truly adequate? Themes such as sufficient number/rate of providers, specialty provider number/rates, geographic location, satisfactory reimbursement rates, administrative solutions, performance measurement, and credentialling will all be covered.
- Panelist: Garett Bird, Avesis—A Guardian Company
- Panelist: Sid Whitman, DDS, American Dental Association
- Sponsor: Bedford Healthcare Solutions
Advancing Oral Health Equity through
Inclusion, Access, Accountability, and Artificial Intelligence
DAY 2: Wednesday, January 12th, 2022
10:00—10:30 SESSION 4: Adapting to Change as a Result of COVID:
What We’ve Learned; What’s Next
Session 4 will address the changes that have taken place across Medicaid programs, and in dentistry as a discipline since the emergence of COVID. Our Keynote will address lessons learned, progress, new strategies for working with government agencies and what we can expect in the foreseeable future.
- Timothy Ricks, DMD, MPH; Rear Admiral (RADM), Assistant Surgeon General—USDHHS
- Sponsor: Delta Dental of Iowa
10:30—11:30 SESSION 5: Assessing Quality and Equity
in Medicaid Programs & Oral Healthcare
In Session 5 attendees will learn more about assessing quality and equity in health outcomes. Speakers will address, the need for utilizing true diagnostic coding in dentistry and the measures of equity in both oral healthcare and oral health outcomes. Attendees will hear from government officials on how to move in this direction when administrating and evaluating Medicaid dental programs across the States. ?
- Mary E. Foley, MPH, MSDA Executive Director
- Sponsor: Avesis-A Guardian Company
12:00—1:00 SESSION 6: Gaining Input through Member Self-Assessment
In Session 6, attendees will learn of a new Oral Health Equity Self-Assessment tool for use by both Medicaid beneficiaries and program administrators. Attendees will hear why the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise elected to develop such a tool, how the tool was developed with key stakeholders, the survey framework and questions, and how it will be operationalized using an interactive electronic platform to deliver key reports to individual members, contract vendors and the State Medicaid dental programs.
Part I: The Iowa Medicaid Enterprise Member Self-Assessment Initiative: Background and Regulation
- Panelist: Heather Miller, IME Dental Program Manager
Part 2: Development of the Member Self-Assessment
- Panelist: Gretchen Hageman, Delta Dental of Iowa
- Panelist: Sabrina Johnson, Regional Operations Manager, MCNA-Dental Wellness Plan
Part III: Operationalizing the Member Self-Assessment Tool
- Panelist: Joe Errante, DDS, CEO & Dental Director, PreViser
- Panelist: Shane Gildnes, VP Technology, PreViser
- Sponsor: SKYGEN
1:30—2:30 SESSION 7: Employing Digital Technology and
Artificial Intelligence to Promote Oral Health Equity
Artificial intelligence is reaching the far corners of business and healthcare. In this session attendees will learn of the innovative ways in which AI is contributing to Medicaid dental program management of health information; improved diagnostics, decision support, predictive analytics, standardized and objective patient information, operational efficiencies, digital workflows, claim submission accuracies, provider performance; and program integrity.
- Panelist: Shirley-Anne Spater, DDS, SKYGEN
- Panelist: Josh Filo, SKYGEN
- Panelist: Shaju Puthussery, Overjet
- Sponsor: Hawaii Dental Services
3:00—4:00 SESSION 8: Clinical Perspective and Evidence Update
This session will highlight the emergence of Povidone-Iodine added to Fluoride Varnish for use in preventive dentistry. The speaker will discuss its indications for use and scientific evidence around its efficacy in preventing dental caries. There will be a discussion regarding the available CDT code(s) for delivering such a treatment and suggestions for policy and benefits at the State and vendor levels.
- Peter Milgrom, DDS
- Sponsor: PREVISER
4:00—4:30 SESSION 9: DC Federal and Legislative Update
Session 9 will provide an update on Federal legislation and regulation effecting Medicaid dental programs, contract vendors, providers and beneficiaries.
4:30 CLOSING REMARKS