The 2024 Legislative Session ended on March 7. We want to share a recap of the important wins for oral health access and prevention from the short 60-day session! With the support of our partners, Arcora Foundation secured 2 priority funding items in the state supplemental operating budget:
$1 million to increase the capacity of local Access to Baby & Child Dentistry programs, to reach more eligible families and support providers.
$100,000 for a community water fluoridation work group, to continue to build on the recommendations from the 2023 Oral Health Equity Assessment.
We were also proud to join partner-led efforts on additional oral health funding, including:
Capital funding for dental clinics at community health centers: Community Health Center of Snohomish County (Everett), Community Health Association of Spokane (Spokane), Moses Lake Community Health Center (Ephrata), and the Pacific Northwest University School of Dental Medicine partnership with Yakima Neighborhood Health Services.
The Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign has led the charge for authorization and full funding for Apple Health (Medicaid) Expansion. Apple Health Expansion, which will begin July 1, is Medicaid-similar coverage for lower-income immigrant adults who are barred from Medicaid due to immigration status. This is an exciting and much-needed program to address a long-standing inequity in health coverage; however, not enough funding is currently available to cover all newly eligible adults. Legislators increased funding $28.4 million to extend the reach of Apple Health Expansion.
We thank policymakers, oral health providers, community-based organizations, and other partners who made these wins possible.
We can’t do this work without you. Advancing oral health requires public and private partnerships, policy advocacy, and funding. Join us in our mission to bend the arc of oral health toward equity. Learn more and contact us at info@arcorafoundation.org.
3 perspectives on the importance of equity-focused work.
At Arcora Foundation, partnerships power our work. We collaborate with people across Washington state to further our mission to bend the arc of oral health toward equity.
Our staff are essential to build and maintain our partnerships. Their dedication and experience help to center community voices in our work to achieve good oral and overall health for people who face barriers to dental care—especially in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
For National Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate our Latinx staff. Matt, Melissa, and Konstanza share about their backgrounds and lived experiences, which help to better serve Latinx and other people in our state so that everyone can reach their full health potential.
Matt Gonzalez
Matt identifies as Latino and is an Arcora associate program officer.
In my role, I am fortunate enough to partner with community-based organizations. Pacific Islander Health Board, Latino Educational Training Institute, and Asia Pacific Cultural Center are a few organizations I have worked with in the last year.
I take the time needed to make strong, trust-based connections within communities, which allow me to share the importance of good oral health and collaborate in ways that include everyone’s voice. Then I share with my Arcora colleagues the many ways health care inequality affects people across the state of Washington. With their expertise, we strategize ways to address these issues at a systemic level to improve health outcomes for all.
Asia Pacific Cultural Center celebration of new location groundbreaking in 2023.Grand opening of UTOPIA’S Mapu Maia Clinic in 2023.Latino Expo 2023.With Tahoma Peak Solutions at Hibulb Cultural Center for focus group on sugary beverages 2023.
This work means so much to me because it allows me to be who I am, use my strengths in interpersonal relationship building, and support organizations serving the people with the most need. It allows me to uplift people from my community—Latino, LGBTQ, first generation college student—and other communities facing the same barriers to good oral health. Not often am I in a room with people who look like me. Whenever I can be a familiar, relatable, and welcoming face to those in a position to make change, it makes me feel like I am right where I am supposed to be.
I smile when I see a spark in someone’s eyes that something I have shared resonates with them. It lets me know I have made a difference, although small, and a step in the right direction.
Melissa Martinez
Melissa identifies as Latina and is an outreach specialist at Arcora.
I have the privilege of collaborating with dental providers, community partners, and patients to spread the word about Arcora’s programs.
But what I do isn’t just about dental health. It’s also about championing equity! My mission is crystal clear: I’m dedicated to ensuring that every Washingtonian enjoys equitable access to health care. This commitment runs deep as I vividly recall my own parents’ struggles to access care while growing up.
With co-worker Carl George at Spokane Pride 2023.Spokane Goodwill Community Connect Resource Fair in 2023.With Carl at Pacific Northwest Dental Conference 2022.Asia Pacific Cultural Center Lunar New Year celebration with Delta Dental of Washington Tooth Fairy in 2023.
If you were to look back through my family photo albums, you would likely notice that my dad never smiled in photos, often opting to make a funny face—like sticking out his tongue—rather than show his discolored and decaying teeth. I was a preteen when I witnessed my father undergo the emotional experience of having all his teeth removed and replaced by full dentures before he was 50. On the day of his appointment, I anticipated that he would return with newfound confidence that would make him want to smile in photos. Instead, he sat at our dining table and cried. He regretted not placing a greater emphasis on seeking care and allowing himself to be discouraged so easily when he felt he couldn’t afford to see a dentist and struggled to find a dental office that would accommodate his lack of insurance. He felt he was entirely at fault.
What I came to understand years later was how, as parents, their priority was me, their daughter. Their first sacrifice was their own needs. Both my mother and father worked diligently to make ends meet, and any time away from work without pay required careful budgeting. This meant that, after ensuring I received the attention I needed, the additional time and money required to search for the resources necessary for their own care were scarcely available.
This profound personal experience especially fuels my passion for Apple Health—our state Medicaid program—and understanding of the hurdles providers face when serving Apple Health patients. My goal? To leverage this insight to reshape the standard of care to make health care accessible to everyone and provide accurate resources that make it easier to find the right care.
Konstanza Von Sternberg
Konstanza identifies as Latina and is an Arcora DentistLink referral specialist.
I was born in Ecuador and raised by a Hispanic/Latinx mother and an American father. My experience with health care was far easier than the classmates and friends I grew up with.
Growing up in a low-income household with two working parents, I spent a lot of time in after-school programs or at a friend’s home. I lived in Alexandria, Virginia in 4th and 5th grades and my best friend was Carolina, who is El Salvadoran. After performing our carefully crafted dance routines, we rushed back into her apartment for snacks and beverages of the sugary kind. Remember those little barrel-shaped sugar bombs with the foil lids? That kind. I’m talking dollar-store popsicles, Kool-Aid mix, those big bags of store brand cereal, and even Carolina’s leftover Halloween candy from 2 years ago if we were really desperate. With no adults around, it was too easy to run straight down to cavity town.
I understand all of this as an adult. I also understand this as a child of a first-generation immigrant—and friend of many first-generation immigrants. There are certain sacrifices you make in the pursuit of a better life. This includes hustling day and night to make sure those that come after you don’t have to. Or sacrificing how much time you spend at home during the week so that you can afford to fill the piñata on birthdays. And even letting go of certain health needs so you can still afford to keep the water running and the stove hot. Luckily, my mom arrived early enough each night to force me to brush my teeth. So many of us grew up with the privilege of having our parents around to do these things. And as much as I would have felt lucky to be in Carolina’s position when I was that age, I’m lucky I didn’t get the option.
Fiestas Patrias 2020.
This is why I do what I do, and why it means so much to me. I had the privilege of regular dental care growing up. Now, I get to use that privilege to make a difference in my own community. The community that nourished my stomach and my soul when I needed it the most. I want to be part of the reason things get easier on us. Even if it is in a small way.
We can’t do this work without you. Advancing oral health requires public and private partnerships, policy advocacy, and funding. Join us in our mission to bend the arc of oral health toward equity. Learn more and contact us at info@arcorafoundation.org.
Grants to community health centers will help efforts to maintain coverage for people with Apple Health (Medicaid).
People with limited income and resources may face barriers to access health care. That’s where Apple Health (Medicaid) comes in. According to the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA), more than 2 million Washingtonians have access to dental, medical, and other services because of Apple Health.
Funding from Arcora Foundation will help people with Apple Health keep their coverage. Arcora awarded $120,000 in grants to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) across the state to conduct Apple Health outreach and enrollment activities. FQHCs are federally funded nonprofit health centers or clinics where people who are underserved can get care.
Arcora provided this funding because of a big change to Apple Health eligibility requirements—known as the Medicaid Unwind. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, Apple Health maintained continuous coverage for people, waiving the requirement that clients re-confirm their eligibility status. As a result of this temporary rule change—as well as the pandemic’s effects on the economy—many Washingtonians signed up for Apple Health who never had it before. Enrollees received continuous Apple Health coverage throughout the public health emergency.
When the public health emergency ended in the spring of 2023, Apple Health reverted to the pre-pandemic requirements that people with Apple Health verify they’re still eligible for coverage. If they don’t, they may lose it. Because so many Washingtonians signed up for Apple Health during the pandemic and never had to re-verify their eligibility, thousands are at risk of losing coverage. The HCA, Health Benefit Exchange, managed care organizations, providers, community-based organizations, and others are reaching out to families and individuals affected by this change. Here’s more information from the HCA on the Medicaid Unwind and what clients can expect.
These 6 FQHCs received $20,000 each. The funds will support activities to maintain Apple Health coverage for people in their communities:
Apple Health is critical to helping people connect to care who might not otherwise have access. When more people access care, they are better able to reach their full health potential. Thank you to FQHCs across the state that share Arcora’s vision that all people enjoy good oral and overall health with no one left behind, and that work tirelessly to achieve it.
We can’t do this work without you. Advancing oral health requires public and private partnerships, policy advocacy, and funding. Join us in our mission to bend the arc of oral health toward equity. Learn more and contact us at info@arcorafoundation.org.
Matt Gonzalez
Melissa Martinez
Konstanza Von Sternberg
Fiestas Patrias 2020.