Moonchild Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 2017 on the premise that disadvantaged children of the “working poor” should have the same access to oral healthcare education and services as their otherwise more fortunate peers.

With this problem in mind, the Foundation set out to find a way to provide pediatric dental education and services to the children of the “working poor” – i.e., those who do not qualify for benefits under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS); who are not offered employer-based benefits; and who cannot afford private (or ACA) insurance. The Foundation identified that a solution to this problem would be (1) to find providers willing to perform pediatric dental services at a discount, and (2) to subsidize all or a portion of the balance for the patient’s family.

To that end, the Foundation set out to find, and did find, pediatric dental service providers willing to perform services at discounted (AHCCCS) rates. Then, in conjunction with such discounted services, the Foundation subsidizes the cost thereof up to 50% of the AHCCCS rate on behalf of the patient.

Patients who receive the Foundation’s benefits are children of working poor families located in Southern Arizona (predominantly Tucson and surrounding areas). Such children, who are in need of essential oral healthcare services, are referred to the Foundation by the participating providers. The Foundation then asks those prospective candidates to fill out an application, including information that would qualify them as “working poor”. The candidate’s application is then reviewed by the Foundation’s Benefits Committee, which selects beneficiaries based on a myriad of factors, including financial and medical need.

Selected applicants receive the Foundation’s subsidization benefits (as noted above), which are funded entirely by donations.