Piloting a Dental Alternative Payment Model for Missourians with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Progress, Lessons Learned, and What's to Come
Presented by Jessica Emmerich, Melissa Kleffner-Wansing, Dr. Mack Taylor, Katie Schroeder, Stephanie Scott
Friday, May 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM (noon)
Description:
Access to dental care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) remains a persistent challenge, driven by gaps in coverage, workforce limitations, and traditional fee-for-service payment models that do not fully support preventive, person-centered care.
The Missouri Coalition for Oral Health (MCOH), in partnership with Enable Dental, Elks Mobile Dental, and Southeast Missouri (SEMO) Health Network, is leading a multi-year pilot to design, test, and evaluate a dental Alternative Payment Model (APM). A dental APM for people with I/DD will create system change to increase access to care and reduce dental health disparities. By using select and actionable metrics, an APM will increase the focus on quality, increase dental team capacity to successfully provide preventive care and treatment for people with I/DD, and increase person-centered dental care. To date, the pilot has delivered over 1,400 dental visits to nearly 1,300 underserved individuals with I/DD across Missouri, utilizing various modalities from traditional dental office settings to teledentistry and mobile dentistry, while simultaneously testing clinical, quality, and person-centered performance measures. This lays the groundwork for future implementation of a dental APM in Missouri. The project also includes tracking outcomes and examining the impact of target measures on quality of care and access, as well as evaluating how value-based reimbursement can support high-quality care across different provider types. MCOH is consolidating case studies and lessons learned.
Learning Objectives:
- Attendees will be able to describe key components of the MCOH dental APM, including mock incentives, quality measures, and care delivery models.
- Attendees will be able to summarize at least two outcomes or lessons learned from the pilot related to access, quality, or provider participation.
- Attendees will be able to identify at least one policy or systems change opportunity informed by the APM pilot.
Jessica Emmerich
Executive Director, MCOH
Jessica Emmerich was appointed Executive Director in December 2025. In 2022, Jessica was named the first Dental Medicaid Facilitator at MCOH. In this role, Ms. Emmerich collaborated with MO HealthNet and the Missouri Dental Association to support dental providers and encourage greater participation by providers in MO HealthNet programs. Her career includes service with the State of Missouri in both the Department of Social Services, MO HealthNet Division and Children’s Division, where she played an integral role in assisting dental providers and MO HealthNet participants throughout implementation of the Statewide Managed Care Roll Out. Ms. Emmerich brings substantial expertise in collaborating with MO HealthNet providers within both fee-for-service and managed care frameworks. She also offers dedicated support to dental practices statewide and actively works to improve access to care by addressing existing barriers. Jessica previously held the position of Operations Manager at the Coalition for several years prior to her advancement to her current role.
Jessica, a native of rural Northwest Missouri, recognizes the significance of expanding access to oral health care services throughout the state. She currently resides on a farm in Central Missouri with her husband and three children.
Melissa Kleffner-Wansing, MSW
Grants and Performance Management Director, MCOH
Melissa Kleffner-Wansing was appointed the Grants and Performance Management Director for the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health in November 2015. Ms. Kleffner-Wansing previously served as the Assistant Bureau Chief of Genetics and Healthy Childhood with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), where she was Project Director for the Missouri Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program and managed federal grants and programs related to primary care and rural health. She also worked in the DHSS Oral Health Program and was a social work clinician for more than eight years at St. Mary's Health Center and SSM Hospice.
She received a Master Degree in Social Work from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology with a Minor in Social Work and an emphasis in Psychology from Lincoln University.
Ms. Kleffner-Wansing lives with her husband and three young sons on the Mid-Missouri farm where she was raised. She is active with her community church and school.
Dr. Mack Taylor, DDS
Dental Director, SEMO Health Network
Dr. Mack Taylor has served in the position of Chief Dental Officer since March 2019. He graduated from Mizzou in 2009 with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in Advertising, after which he finished his prerequisites for dental school. He applied to the UMKC School of Dentistry and graduated in 2014 with his DDS degree. He has been an active member of the MDA, serving on the New Dentist Committee in various functions. He is a member of the board of directors for the MDA Wellbeing Foundation and is also both the current President of the Southeast Dental Society as well as its trustee to the MDA board. Dr. Taylor has maintained adjunct faculty status with both UMKC and MOSDOH Dental Schools and has hosted students in his office. He volunteers with Smiles of Hope Dental Ministry as well as with MOMOM. As CDO, Dr. Taylor is directly responsible for the day-to-day operations of SEMO Health Network’s dental clinics, including planning, implementing, and directing all departments within the framework of policies and procedures approved by the Board of Directors. He directly and indirectly supervises all SEMO Health Network dental providers and staff. Other responsibilities include coordinating dental extern rotations, recruiting new providers, contracting with specialist providers, and advising senior management regarding dental issues.
Katie Schroeder, RDH, BSDH
Community Relations Manager, Enable Dental
Katie Schroeder, RDH, BSDH, joined Enable Dental in 2024, serving in a dual role as Community Relations Manager and Project Manager, overseeing contracts with the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health and the Department of Health & Senior Services Office of Dental Health. Katie earned her BSDH from UMKC in 2006. She practiced clinical dental hygiene in private practice and public health from 2006-2010, and served as part-time adjunct clinical faculty and as a Kansas Head Start Oral Health Educator during the same period. Katie spent the next 14 years in the nonprofit sector holding a variety of roles with Cass County Dental Clinic, most recently as Director of Dental Programs from 2019-2024. She is a former board member for the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health and the Missouri Dental Hygienists' Association. Katie is passionate about oral health education and improving access to care for underserved populations. When not working, Katie enjoys spending time with her husband, Nick, daughter, Eliza, and their 2 rescue dogs. She enjoys doing puzzles, taking walks, and practicing yoga.
Stephanie Scott, RDH
Program Coordinator, MO Elks Mobile Dental Program