Delta Dental Offers $7M in COVID-19 Help

Ed Choate

Delta Dental of Arkansas and the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation are providing $7 million in financial assistance to dental clinics and nonprofits that are helping communities during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Delta Dental of Arkansas has committed $6.5 million to a new program: the Delta Dental of Arkansas Advance Receipts Program. The program is designed to help practices that are limited to providing only emergency services outbreak.  

In addition, the foundation will offer a total of $500,000 in grants to community organizations for projects directly related to COVID-19.

“We have worked closely with dentists in our state to improve the oral health of all Arkansans for almost 40 years,” Delta Dental of Arkansas President and CEO Ed Choate said in a news release. “These two initiatives are a way for us to provide financial support to dental providers during a time when their practices are under significant financial stress and to nonprofit organizations who need financial assistance to continue to be the safety net that many people rely upon.”

The receipts program is available to in-network practices. Applicants are eligible to receive up to five weekly advances, each equal to 40% of the average weekly Delta Dental of Arkansas clinical reimbursement payments made to the practice’s Tax Identification Number during 2019. The maximum advance amount to any one practice will not exceed $40,000.

Dentists can sign up for the program at Delta Dental’s website. Approvals will be processed within five business days, and distributions will begin within seven days of approval, Delta Dental said.

Practices receiving advances will be required to repay the advances, with no interest, in 20 equal payments starting July 2020.   

The limit on the foundation grants $10,000 per organization, and eligible nonprofits can begin applying online for those on Wednesday. 

They will be notified of approval within one week from the submission of their application. Grant money will then be paid within five business days from application approval.  

To be eligible for the grant, the organizations must:

• Be located in Arkansas and serve Arkansans;
• Have an active 501(c)(3) IRS status; and
• Be addressing immediate COVID-19 needs;

The grants can be used to cover fixed operational expenses such as salaries for medical providers, volunteer coordinators, medical workforce, rent, utilities, internet, insurance, phone, medical supplies and more. Organizations can apply for the grants here.