| From | ADEA <[email protected]> |
| Subject | ADEA Advocate - January 24, 2024 |
| Date | January 24, 2024 6:36 PM |
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American Dental Education Association
Volume 3, No. 27, January 23, 2024
Congress Extends Government Funding for a Third Time
Fiscal year 2024 began on Oct. 1, 2023, and Congress has yet to enact appropriations bills to fund programs, projects and activities. However, a potential shut down has been averted with the passage of H.R. 2872 [ [link removed] ] , the Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024. The bill provides that all oral health workforce training and higher education programs will be funded at FY 2023 levels through March 8.
Between now and then the Senate and House Appropriations Committees will work to come to agreement on the differences in their respective bills and produce a final agreement. The programs of concern to oral health education are generally funded at the same levels as FY 23 in both bills save for the Ryan White Dental Reimbursement program, for which the House bill contained no funding. ADEA has led the advocacy efforts to restore the appropriation to at least the FY 23 level of $13.6 million, which is the level in the Senate version of the bill, and has been joined by the larger oral health community.
Republicans Release College Cost Reduction Act
Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Education and Workforce Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), introduced the College Cost and Reduction Act [ [link removed] ] in an effort to address the escalating cost of college and overhaul the student loans system. The proposed legislation focuses on three key objectives. First, it enhances transparency by providing students with clearer and more personalized information about the costs associated with college. Second, it holds colleges accountable for degrees that do not yield favorable returns on investment, making them financially responsible. Finally, the bill reallocates university funding based on student outcomes. The College Cost Reduction Act is part of a broader series of bills introduced by the House to reform the Higher Education Act and address issues related to college costs and student loan debt.
The proposed amendments to the Higher Education Act (HEA) outlined in the bill include the creation of standardized financial aid offer forms, developed in collaboration with industry representatives, to provide comprehensive information on the costs of attending a particular school. Additionally, the legislation introduces two new programs—the "Pell Plus" program, allowing certain degree students to receive increased Pell Grants, and the "PROMISE" grant program, which bases school funding on student performance, graduation rates, and low tuition.
Furthermore, the bill mandates the U.S. Department of Education’s secretary to maintain the College Scorecard website, facilitating easy access to key information about universities for parents and students. The bill also proposes streamlining repayment programs to two repayment plans—an income-driven plan and a 10-year "mortgage style" plan.
However, there are three provisions that are of particular concern to ADEA. The bill eliminates parent and GRAD PLUS loans. It implements changes to student loans, including aggregate limits of $50,000 for undergraduate students and $150,000 for graduate students, and it establishes financial responsibility for colleges regarding unpaid loans. Colleges would have to share the “risk” of college costs with their students. The legislation requires colleges to annually compensate the government for a portion of unpaid interest and loans from former students. Specifically, in terms of the annual “risk-sharing payments”, colleges, rather than students, would be required to compensate the government for a portion of the forgiven unpaid interest associated with their former students. Colleges would also be responsible for some missed payments if their former student fails to make a payment. Colleges may waive half of their risk-sharing liabilities if they agree to cease disbursement of federal student loans for the program(s), triggering the risk-sharing payment, for 10 years.
Wisconsin Legislature Votes in Favor of Multiple Bills That Will Impact Oral Health Practitioners and Students
The Wisconsin State Legislature has had a busy month, having recently voted to send a number of bills that will impact oral health practitioners and students in the state to Gov. Tony Evers (D) for consideration.
SB 689 [ [link removed] ] provides for the licensure of dental therapists. If the bill becomes law, a dental therapist would be required to practice under a collaborative management agreement with a licensed dentist that specifies various aspects of the dental therapist's practice and supervision. When initially licensed, a dental therapist would only be permitted to practice under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist. After providing dental therapy services for at least 2,000 hours, the dental therapist may provide services under the general supervision of a qualifying dentist. Additionally, dental therapists would also be limited to practicing in federally defined dental shortage areas or in settings where at least 50 percent of their patient base consists of specified populations who are traditionally underserved.
Additionally, the bill also establishes educational requirements for licensure. To qualify for a license, a candidate must graduate from:
• a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation;
• a program approved by the Minnesota Board of Dentistry on or before the bill's effective date that has, as of the time of application, become CODA-accredited; or
• a program offered in Wisconsin that has received initial CODA accreditation but is not yet fully CODA-accredited. Under this provision, an applicant is only eligible for four years after the program's inception, and if the program is not fully CODA accredited by the time that four-year period has elapsed, the bill requires the licenses of dental therapists who graduated from the program to be revoked.
SB 692 [ [link removed] ] ratifies the dentist and dental hygienist compact. Once enacted by seven states, the compact will create a pathway to licensure portability for dentists and dental hygienists who are licensed in member states. Licensees who live in states that are compact members can apply for a “compact privilege” that will allow them to practice in another member state. Iowa [ [link removed] ] became the first state to join the compact. Washington [ [link removed] ] state and Tennessee [ [link removed] ] became the second and third states, respectively. The bill has also been proposed in 11 additional states [ [link removed] ] .
SB 702 [ [link removed] ] specifies that the Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) may provide up to $20,000,000 in funding in the 2023-25 fiscal biennium for technical college programs to expand the state's oral health care workforce. The Technical College System Board, in coordination with the technical colleges, may submit a request to JCF for this funding with a plan that identifies each technical college that requests funding, the amount of funding requested and a detailed description of the eligible expenditures for which the funding would be used. The bill also details eligible expenditures.
SB 706 [ [link removed] ] modifies a scholarship program so that only students enrolled in the Marquette University School of Dentistry (MUSD) are eligible. The current program is open to state residents enrolled in a health training program who agree to practice in a health shortage area in this state upon graduation. If the changes become law, the program will be permitted to award up to 15 scholarships to dental school students enrolled at MUSD. Scholarships, including a stipend, are equal to $30,000 for each year of a student's enrollment but not exceeding four years. Additionally, the Higher Educational Aids Board will be required to provide the school with $350,000 annually for the development and operation of programs to support the recruitment and training of students in rural dentistry.
SB 476 [ [link removed] ] prohibits the Department of Health Services (DHS) from requiring a health care provider or provider group that is licensed, certified, registered or otherwise authorized to provide health care services. It exclusively offers health care services through telehealth to maintain a physical address or site in the state to be eligible for enrollment as a certified provider under the Medical Assistance program.
AB 62 [ [link removed] ] allows an individual insured under a health benefit plan that includes coverage of dental services to assign reimbursement for dental and related services directly to a dental provider. If reimbursement for dental care is assigned to a provider of dental care, the bill requires the insurer to directly pay the provider the amount of any claim under the same criteria and payment schedule under which it would have reimbursed the insured.
SB 158 [ [link removed] ] creates a preliminary health care credential that is available to individuals who have completed the requirements for the corresponding permanent or training health care credential while they await a decision from the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) regarding their application for the permanent or training credential. The preliminary credential subjects a person to all responsibilities and limitations of the corresponding credential. An applicant for a preliminary credential and health care employers must make specified attestations to be eligible for the preliminary credential.
2024 ADEA/AADOCR/Friends of NIDCR Advocacy Day
On Thursday, Apr. 11, 2024, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) and the Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR) will join forces for our 2024 Advocacy Day!
This event will be held in person on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Participants will receive a legislative briefing and advocacy training on Wednesday Apr. 10, 2024, that will feature speakers from Congress, HRSA and NIDCR. The following day, Apr. 11, will be dedicated to group meetings on Capitol Hill with targeted congressional offices, including participants’ own elected officials.
The deadline to register [ [link removed] ] for the 2024 Advocacy Day is Feb. 23. See you there!
[[link removed]]
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
• ADA Dentist and Student Lobby Day, Apr. 7-9, 2024. Register here [ [link removed] ] .
• The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making concerning the “Accessibility of Medical Diagnostic Equipment of State and Local Government Entities [ [link removed] ] .” MDE includes dental chairs. Interested parties my comment on or before Feb. 12, 2024.
• 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] ]
twitter
[[link removed]]
Unsubscribe
[link removed]
Subscribe
[link removed]
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 Senior Director of State Relations and Advocacy
Contact Us:
[email protected] [ [link removed] ]
Powered by Higher Logic [link removed]
American Dental Education Association
Volume 3, No. 27, January 23, 2024
Congress Extends Government Funding for a Third Time
Fiscal year 2024 began on Oct. 1, 2023, and Congress has yet to enact appropriations bills to fund programs, projects and activities. However, a potential shut down has been averted with the passage of H.R. 2872 [ [link removed] ] , the Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024. The bill provides that all oral health workforce training and higher education programs will be funded at FY 2023 levels through March 8.
Between now and then the Senate and House Appropriations Committees will work to come to agreement on the differences in their respective bills and produce a final agreement. The programs of concern to oral health education are generally funded at the same levels as FY 23 in both bills save for the Ryan White Dental Reimbursement program, for which the House bill contained no funding. ADEA has led the advocacy efforts to restore the appropriation to at least the FY 23 level of $13.6 million, which is the level in the Senate version of the bill, and has been joined by the larger oral health community.
Republicans Release College Cost Reduction Act
Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Education and Workforce Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), introduced the College Cost and Reduction Act [ [link removed] ] in an effort to address the escalating cost of college and overhaul the student loans system. The proposed legislation focuses on three key objectives. First, it enhances transparency by providing students with clearer and more personalized information about the costs associated with college. Second, it holds colleges accountable for degrees that do not yield favorable returns on investment, making them financially responsible. Finally, the bill reallocates university funding based on student outcomes. The College Cost Reduction Act is part of a broader series of bills introduced by the House to reform the Higher Education Act and address issues related to college costs and student loan debt.
The proposed amendments to the Higher Education Act (HEA) outlined in the bill include the creation of standardized financial aid offer forms, developed in collaboration with industry representatives, to provide comprehensive information on the costs of attending a particular school. Additionally, the legislation introduces two new programs—the "Pell Plus" program, allowing certain degree students to receive increased Pell Grants, and the "PROMISE" grant program, which bases school funding on student performance, graduation rates, and low tuition.
Furthermore, the bill mandates the U.S. Department of Education’s secretary to maintain the College Scorecard website, facilitating easy access to key information about universities for parents and students. The bill also proposes streamlining repayment programs to two repayment plans—an income-driven plan and a 10-year "mortgage style" plan.
However, there are three provisions that are of particular concern to ADEA. The bill eliminates parent and GRAD PLUS loans. It implements changes to student loans, including aggregate limits of $50,000 for undergraduate students and $150,000 for graduate students, and it establishes financial responsibility for colleges regarding unpaid loans. Colleges would have to share the “risk” of college costs with their students. The legislation requires colleges to annually compensate the government for a portion of unpaid interest and loans from former students. Specifically, in terms of the annual “risk-sharing payments”, colleges, rather than students, would be required to compensate the government for a portion of the forgiven unpaid interest associated with their former students. Colleges would also be responsible for some missed payments if their former student fails to make a payment. Colleges may waive half of their risk-sharing liabilities if they agree to cease disbursement of federal student loans for the program(s), triggering the risk-sharing payment, for 10 years.
Wisconsin Legislature Votes in Favor of Multiple Bills That Will Impact Oral Health Practitioners and Students
The Wisconsin State Legislature has had a busy month, having recently voted to send a number of bills that will impact oral health practitioners and students in the state to Gov. Tony Evers (D) for consideration.
SB 689 [ [link removed] ] provides for the licensure of dental therapists. If the bill becomes law, a dental therapist would be required to practice under a collaborative management agreement with a licensed dentist that specifies various aspects of the dental therapist's practice and supervision. When initially licensed, a dental therapist would only be permitted to practice under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist. After providing dental therapy services for at least 2,000 hours, the dental therapist may provide services under the general supervision of a qualifying dentist. Additionally, dental therapists would also be limited to practicing in federally defined dental shortage areas or in settings where at least 50 percent of their patient base consists of specified populations who are traditionally underserved.
Additionally, the bill also establishes educational requirements for licensure. To qualify for a license, a candidate must graduate from:
• a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation;
• a program approved by the Minnesota Board of Dentistry on or before the bill's effective date that has, as of the time of application, become CODA-accredited; or
• a program offered in Wisconsin that has received initial CODA accreditation but is not yet fully CODA-accredited. Under this provision, an applicant is only eligible for four years after the program's inception, and if the program is not fully CODA accredited by the time that four-year period has elapsed, the bill requires the licenses of dental therapists who graduated from the program to be revoked.
SB 692 [ [link removed] ] ratifies the dentist and dental hygienist compact. Once enacted by seven states, the compact will create a pathway to licensure portability for dentists and dental hygienists who are licensed in member states. Licensees who live in states that are compact members can apply for a “compact privilege” that will allow them to practice in another member state. Iowa [ [link removed] ] became the first state to join the compact. Washington [ [link removed] ] state and Tennessee [ [link removed] ] became the second and third states, respectively. The bill has also been proposed in 11 additional states [ [link removed] ] .
SB 702 [ [link removed] ] specifies that the Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) may provide up to $20,000,000 in funding in the 2023-25 fiscal biennium for technical college programs to expand the state's oral health care workforce. The Technical College System Board, in coordination with the technical colleges, may submit a request to JCF for this funding with a plan that identifies each technical college that requests funding, the amount of funding requested and a detailed description of the eligible expenditures for which the funding would be used. The bill also details eligible expenditures.
SB 706 [ [link removed] ] modifies a scholarship program so that only students enrolled in the Marquette University School of Dentistry (MUSD) are eligible. The current program is open to state residents enrolled in a health training program who agree to practice in a health shortage area in this state upon graduation. If the changes become law, the program will be permitted to award up to 15 scholarships to dental school students enrolled at MUSD. Scholarships, including a stipend, are equal to $30,000 for each year of a student's enrollment but not exceeding four years. Additionally, the Higher Educational Aids Board will be required to provide the school with $350,000 annually for the development and operation of programs to support the recruitment and training of students in rural dentistry.
SB 476 [ [link removed] ] prohibits the Department of Health Services (DHS) from requiring a health care provider or provider group that is licensed, certified, registered or otherwise authorized to provide health care services. It exclusively offers health care services through telehealth to maintain a physical address or site in the state to be eligible for enrollment as a certified provider under the Medical Assistance program.
AB 62 [ [link removed] ] allows an individual insured under a health benefit plan that includes coverage of dental services to assign reimbursement for dental and related services directly to a dental provider. If reimbursement for dental care is assigned to a provider of dental care, the bill requires the insurer to directly pay the provider the amount of any claim under the same criteria and payment schedule under which it would have reimbursed the insured.
SB 158 [ [link removed] ] creates a preliminary health care credential that is available to individuals who have completed the requirements for the corresponding permanent or training health care credential while they await a decision from the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) regarding their application for the permanent or training credential. The preliminary credential subjects a person to all responsibilities and limitations of the corresponding credential. An applicant for a preliminary credential and health care employers must make specified attestations to be eligible for the preliminary credential.
2024 ADEA/AADOCR/Friends of NIDCR Advocacy Day
On Thursday, Apr. 11, 2024, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) and the Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR) will join forces for our 2024 Advocacy Day!
This event will be held in person on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Participants will receive a legislative briefing and advocacy training on Wednesday Apr. 10, 2024, that will feature speakers from Congress, HRSA and NIDCR. The following day, Apr. 11, will be dedicated to group meetings on Capitol Hill with targeted congressional offices, including participants’ own elected officials.
The deadline to register [ [link removed] ] for the 2024 Advocacy Day is Feb. 23. See you there!
[[link removed]]
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
• ADA Dentist and Student Lobby Day, Apr. 7-9, 2024. Register here [ [link removed] ] .
• The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making concerning the “Accessibility of Medical Diagnostic Equipment of State and Local Government Entities [ [link removed] ] .” MDE includes dental chairs. Interested parties my comment on or before Feb. 12, 2024.
• 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] ]
[[link removed]]
Unsubscribe
[link removed]
Subscribe
[link removed]
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 Senior Director of State Relations and Advocacy
Contact Us:
[email protected] [ [link removed] ]
Powered by Higher Logic [link removed]
Message Analysis
- Sender: American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
- Political Party: n/a
- Country: United States
- State/Locality: n/a
- Office: n/a