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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 25, December 19, 2023

ADEA Advocate Winter Hiatus
The ADEA Advocate is going on a winter break. The next issue will publish on Tuesday, Jan. 16. This coincides with the Congress’ end-of-year recess.
 
Any breaking news will be available on the ADEA Advocacy website or on ADEA Connect. See you on Jan.16!

Student Loan Debt Relief Negotiated Rulemaking Ends, Proposed Rule Expected By May
 
In June, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of the Biden administration’s initial student loan debt relief proposal, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) promptly began working on what it called “Plan B.” ED announced it would pursue another route, using the Higher Education Act to secure student loan debt relief. This new route required the administration to undergo a process known as negotiated rulemaking. The process is lengthy, entailing a series of negotiation sessions with stakeholders to help create the draft text. The draft text is issued as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which the public has an opportunity to comment on. The negotiated rulemaking sessions began in October and ended on December 12 without a consensus on relief provisions.
 
Negotiators failed to reach a consensus on some elements of the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan. While some common ground was found, there were disagreements on provisions intended to limit relief and eligibility. ED and the negotiators agreed on the former’s proposed relief aimed at specific groups, including those with high-interest balances, individuals paying for 20 or 25 years, attendees of certain career training programs, and those eligible for existing forgiveness programs who never applied.
 
ED’s proposed plan also includes canceling up to $10,000 for borrowers with balances inflated by interest and up to $20,000 for those in an income-driven repayment plan earning less than 225% of the poverty line. However, negotiators, particularly borrower and consumer representatives, opposed these caps, arguing that they are insufficient for those with significantly increased balances. Two additional contentious points included: the use of 225% of the federal poverty line for relief caps, which some argued would exclude struggling borrowers in high-cost areas, and the exclusion of a relief category for borrowers facing hardship, leading negotiators to express disappointment.
 
Draft rules will be released for public comment in May 2024, with the final rule expected before the end of next year and its implementation in 2025.

CMS Releases Rule Implementing New Medicaid Renewal Enforcement Authorities
 
On Dec. 6, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule. The rule implements new enforcement authorities CMS will use if states fail to comply with new reporting requirements as they restore Medicaid eligibility and enrollment operations following the end of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition. The new enforcement authorities include requiring states to submit a corrective action plan, suspending disenrollments from Medicaid for procedural reasons and imposing civil money penalties. They also include applying a reduction to the State-specific Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for failure to meet reporting requirements. Specifically, a .25 percentage point drop in FMAP each quarter reporting is not in compliance.
 
The interim final rule was effective on Dec. 6, 2023. CMS is receiving comments through Feb. 2.

Rollout Details of Canadian Dental Care Plan Announced
 
On Dec. 11, the Canadian government announced a gradual rollout [ [link removed] ] of the Canadian Dental Care Plan. The plan, which is already open to children in families that make less than $90,000 per year, will allow the country’s oldest income eligible seniors to enroll this month. Eventually, the plan will be open to anyone in the country with a family income under $90,000; enrollment eligibility will follow the schedule below:
 • Individuals who are 87 and older will be eligible this month.
 • Individuals between the ages of 77 and 86 will be eligible to enroll in January 2024.
 • Seniors between the ages of 72 and 76 can enroll in February.
 • Those aged 70 to 71 can enroll in March.
 • People between the ages of 65-69 can enroll in May.
 • People with disability tax credit certificates and children under 18 will be able to apply in June.
 • Low- and middle-income individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 will be able to apply in 2025.

University of Wisconsin Strikes Deal With Legislators to Cut Back DEI Initiatives in Exchange for Raises and Funding
 
The University of Wisconsin (UW) System Board of Regents voted to accept a deal [ [link removed] ] made with state legislature Republican leadership to cut back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in exchange for more than $800 million in funding that was being withheld by the legislature. The deal, which was originally rejected by the regents [ [link removed] ] , comes after months of negotiations between leadership at the UW system and leadership in the state legislature. Some of the concessions made by the UW system in exchange for the funding include:
 • Restructuring 43 DEI positions to serve in roles supporting the success of all students.
 • Ending a UW-Madison hiring program used to diversify faculty and replace it with a different hiring program for faculty who have demonstrated their ability to work with underrepresented students.
 • Remove diversity statements from the student application process.
 • Guarantee UW-Madison admission to the top 5% of Wisconsin high school students.
 • Guarantee admission to other UW campuses to the top 10% of in-state students.
 • Develop a mandatory online orientation on free speech for incoming students.
 • Seek donor money to fund a UW-Madison faculty position focused on conservative political thought, classical economic theory or classical liberalism.

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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
 
Varsha Menon
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
Contact Us:
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ]

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