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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 4, June 21, 2023

HHS Tries to Stem Medicaid Coverage Losses
 
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation [ [link removed] ] , as of June 15 over 1.2 million people have lost their Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended on April 1. Their analysis [ [link removed] ] of state data shows the vast majority were removed from state rolls for not completing paperwork. The federal government estimates that 15 million people could lose their Medicaid coverage over the coming year as the pandemic protections wind down.
 
In an effort to stem Medicaid coverage losses, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Beccera sent a letter [ [link removed] ] to governors asking them to review their current outreach efforts and also extended new flexibilities to the states. These new flexibilities are aimed at boosting Medicaid renewals. Specifically, the new flexibilities would:
 • Allow managed care plans to assist people with Medicaid with completing their renewal forms, including completing certain parts of the renewal forms on their behalf.
 • Allow states to delay an administrative termination for one month while the state conducts additional targeted outreach. This will give more time to remind people to fill out and return their renewal forms.
 • Allow pharmacies and community-based organizations to facilitate reinstatement of coverage for those who were recently disenrolled for procedural reasons based on presumptive eligibility criteria.

A full list of all available flexibilities HHS is offering states is here [ [link removed] ] .

Rep. Dan Crenshaw Introduces Bill Limiting Funding for Children’s Hospitals’ GME Programs
 
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2) introduced HR 3887 [ [link removed] ] , The Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2023. This program [ [link removed] ] , which must be reauthorized every 5 years, is currently in the reauthorization process. The program provides funds to train pediatric medical residents and dentists at 59 hospitals nationwide. Rep. Crenshaw’s bill would prohibit funding from the Children’s Hospitals’ Graduate Medical Education (GME) program from going to children’s hospitals that offer “gender affirming care” to minors, including surgeries, hormone therapy and puberty blockers. As a result, those hospitals would lose federal funding for their GME slots funded through this program.
 
According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration, in the academic year 2021–22 , there were 516 Children’s Hospital GME-funded advanced dentistry residents, including 415 pediatric dentists, 24 advanced general dentists and 23 pediatric orthodontists.
 
The official bill text is not yet available on the congressional website; however, the unofficial text can be found here [ [link removed] ] .

Maine Sends Bill to Governor to Study Feasibility of Establishing Dental Therapy Program at University of Maine
 
Maine will send a bill [ [link removed] ] to Gov. Janet Mills (D) that if signed, will mandate the University of Maine System to study and analyze the feasibility of establishing a dental therapy degree program at the University of Maine at Augusta. The system will be required to consider the costs associated with establishing a program, the demand for a dental therapy program in the state and region and any other issues the system considers appropriate. The system will also be required to submit findings and recommended legislation to the legislature by Nov. 6, 2024.
 
Maine first passed a law authorizing the practice [ [link removed] ] of dental therapy in 2014, and licensed its first practitioner [ [link removed] ] in 2021. While 14 states [ [link removed] ] currently authorize the practice of dental therapy, there are only five dental therapy programs [ [link removed] ] in three states.

Nevada Governor Signs Bill to Create New Health Care Provider Student Loan Program
 
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed legislation [ [link removed] ] on June 10 to create a new student loan repayment program for health care providers who work in underserved communities. Once implemented, the Student Loan Repayment for Providers of Health Care in Underserved Communities Program will provide up to $120,000 in student loan repayments to health care providers who work in eligible professions in specified geographic areas. Dentists are listed among eligible professionals, but dental hygienists are not.
 
The bill also requires the state treasurer to adopt a methodology for determining the amount of repayment an eligible provider may receive from the program. The methodology must include a sliding scale that conditions the amount on areas of specialization, type of degree and average loan burden for the particular field of health care.
 
For more information about student loan forgiveness programs for oral health professionals in other states, please refer to ADEA’s list of State and Federal Loan Forgiveness Programs [ [link removed] ] .

Connecticut Sends Bill to Governor to Create New Pathway for Authorizing Dental Hygienists to Take Radiographs
 
The Connecticut Legislature will send a bill [ [link removed] ] to Gov. Ned Lamont (D) that if signed would allow create a new pathway that would authorize dental assistants to take radiographs. Under current state law, dentists may delegate the taking of radiographs to dental assistants who pass the dental radiation health and safety examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board.
 
This bill would create an alternative to this requirement by also allowing dental assistants to complete a radiation health and safety competency assessment administered by a state based dental education program that is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.
 
The bill also requires the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine complete the assessment by Jan. 1, 2025.

ADEA Advocacy in Action
This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.
 
Issues and Resources
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on teledentistry
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
 • ADEA policy brief [ [link removed] ] regarding overprescription of antibiotics
 • For a full list of ADEA memos, briefs and letters click here [ [link removed] ] .

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2023
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Brian Robinson
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
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