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Evaluation of the Dental Wellness Plan: Community Health Center Experiences in the First Year

Introduction
The Dental Wellness Plan (DWP) provides dental benefits for members enrolled in the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan (IHAWP), Iowa’s version of the Medicaid expansion and was enacted through bi-partisan legislation to provide comprehensive health care coverage to low income adults. The DWP was implemented on May 1, 2014, and is administered by Delta Dental of Iowa. It has a unique earned benefits structure aimed at encouraging preventive health care-seeking behaviors. Enrollees earn additional covered services when they return for regular periodic recall exams every 6-12 months. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of Iowa’s community health center (CHC) dental clinics during the first year of the Dental Wellness Plan (DWP).

Methods
In May 2015, online surveys were administered to directors of all CHC dental clinics in Iowa (n=14). Descriptive analyses were conducted for all survey questions. All results are presented unweighted; analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Version 21. Results from this survey are compared with a previous survey of Iowa CHC dental directors conducted in 2013 when appropriate.

 

Reynolds, J., Sukalski, J., McKernan, S., McInroy, B., Kuthy, R., & Damiano, P. Evaluation of the Dental Wellness Plan: Community Health Center Experiences in the First Year. : University of Iowa Public Policy Center.