Thanks to the generosity of a well-known insurance company, a broader swath of Guilford County residents in need should get better dental care this year.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, through its Community Oral Health Transformational Initiative, has awarded the Public Health Division of the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services $50,000 in grant funding to expand communication and service efforts to county residents, including those who don’t speak English as a first language.
The money, which is meant to fund the outreach and information effort to the end of 2023, will be used in part to advertise the county’s dental clinic services to county residents and also provide educational materials for post-operative instructions in non-English languages most commonly served, including Spanish, Karen, Urdu, Swahili, Arabic and Vietnamese.
Apple iPads will be purchased to help with these efforts and also for use when clients sign the necessary forms.
The dental clinic serves children in Guilford County who are eligible for dental services with their Medicaid coverage. The program usually serves about 1,500 unduplicated patients each fiscal year and, for the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30, that number is projected to be over 2,600.
One section of the contract calls for the grantee, Guilford County that is, to promise it will not “use any portion of the grant funds to support, promote, or engage in violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state, nor will it make subgrants to any entity engaged in these activities or related training of any kind, either directly or indirectly (including through support of other organizations or persons engaged in such activity).”
Hopefully county staff will not be inclined to use the money to engage in terrorism rather than help the needy get dental care.
Also interestingly in the contract, the Blue Cross NC Foundation, “must approve any press releases, banners or any other publicity materials containing its name and/or the mention of this grant. If the Grantee does not secure the proper approvals from the Blue Cross NC Foundation, the Grantee may be held responsible for the unauthorized use of the Blue Cross NC Foundation logo and name as well as for the reprinting of any unapproved items at the Grantee’s expense.”
I’m glad to learn that BCBS is “generous”. I have a suggestion: for 50Gs they could hire domestic employees to ANSWER THE PHONE. You know, customer service? Of course if your want to buy something, they will answer the phone. So they do know how to answer the phone.
FYI, no health insurance, including Medicare, pays for dental care. Except for injury or illness of same. So why do I have to pay for anyone’s dental care? And that includes Medicaid, which is health care for indigents.
Uh huh…no telling what county staff may be inclined to do.