The Dental One Table, an advocacy group co-chaired by two Washington state lawmakers, is focusing on expanding access to dental services in 2026, according to a Feb. 16 news release from Washington State House Democrats.
Here are the group’s priorities this year:
- Maintaining the comprehensive adult dental benefit of Apple Health, Washington’s Medicaid program, is a top goal for 2026. Apple Health covers more than 1 million adults in the state.
- The group is pushing to stop any additional cuts to Apple Health’s pediatric dental reimbursement rates.
- Apple Health Expansion, which launched in 2024, provides coverage similar to Medicaid to income eligible adults who are excluded from federal assistance. There are tens of thousands of individuals awaiting coverage, but the proposed budget reduces program enrollment and eliminates dental care.
- Continuing the DentistLink dental referral service with a $200,000 budget to help connect individuals enrolled in Apple Health to dental services. The continued investments in the program will allow it to serve more residents.
- Requesting continued funding and investments into new community health centers to create access for more than 7,000 new patients.
- Preserving the existing funding for oral health education programs that trains dentists to practice in rural and underserved areas.
- Developing a policy response to build a sustainable dental workforce pipeline.
