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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 31, February, 21, 2024

ED Temporarily Eases Financial Aid Requirements
 
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) took additional measures [ [link removed] ] to facilitate the processing of student financial aid forms and ensure students can access their financial aid for the upcoming school year. Since the release of the 2024–2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form on Dec. 30, 2023, 4 million forms have already been submitted. The newly announced steps aim to streamline the process for colleges by reducing verification requirements, suspending routine compliance reviews and providing flexibility for participation in federal student aid programs.
 
To enhance efficiency, ED is significantly reducing verification requirements for FAFSA applicants while maintaining measures to prevent identity fraud. The implementation of direct data exchange with the Internal Revenue Service, facilitated by the overhauled FAFSA form, reduces the need for income data verification. Routine program reviews conducted by ED will be suspended through June 2024, excluding cases of suspected fraud or serious breaches of fiduciary duty. This suspension allows colleges to focus on students’ financial aid packages. Additionally, flexibility on recertification requirements will be provided, waiving the 90-day submission requirement for schools with Program Participation Agreements expiring in March, June or September 2024.
 
These initiatives complement the FAFSA College Support Strategy [ [link removed] ] , previously introduced by ED Secretary Dr. Miguel Cardona, which includes deploying federal personnel to under-resourced colleges to assist with financial aid issues, allocating $50 million for technical assistance and releasing tools to aid institutions with processing their financial aid packages.

FDA Recommends New Pulse Oximeters Standards Due to Bias Concerns
 
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held an advisory panel discussion [ [link removed] ] this month to address concerns about the accuracy of pulse oximeters, particularly in individuals with dark skin pigmentation. The FDA sought opinions on potential new clinical trial requirements to ensure the accuracy of these devices across all skin tones, and there was discussion regarding whether both prescription and over-the-counter pulse oximeters should adhere to the same standards.
 
In 2021, the FDA issued a warning [ [link removed] ] about the “risk of inaccuracy” when using pulse oximeters on darker skinned patients.
 
FDA officials cited studies indicating that, in six out of seven systematic reviews published between 2020 and 2023, pulse oximeters tended to overestimate readings in people with dark skin pigmentation, leading to real-life consequences.
 
The FDA issued a recommendation that participants in clinical trials should span the Monk Skin Tone scale, a measurement developed by Ellis Monk, an associate professor at Harvard University, that is designed to represent a broader range of skin tones. Currently, many studies use the Fitzpatrick scale to measure skin pigmentation. The Fitzpatrick scale was developed by a dermatologist in the 1970s to measure the UV sensitivity of different skin types and skews toward lighter skin tones.
 
The FDA also is considering a non-disparate performance requirement to ensure the devices don’t perform differently based on skin pigmentation.
 
Additionally, the FDA issued a recommendation that both over-the-counter and prescription pulse oximeters should meet the same criteria.

Florida House Passes Bill That Creates New Health Care Workforce Programs, Makes Changes to Existing Programs
 
The Florida House of Representatives passed legislation [ [link removed] ] that, if enacted, will create several new programs that will impact the state’s health care workforce and will make changes to several existing programs. While not all the changes will directly impact oral health professionals, many will. Summaries of those changes can be found below.
 
The legislation proposes multiple changes to the state’s Dental Student Loan Repayment Program that include:
 • Expanding the program to include dental hygienists;
 • Expanding eligibility to include private dental practices that are located in dental health professional shortage (HPSA) areas as eligible practice locations for dentists and dental hygienists;
 • Requiring dentists and dental hygienists who participate to also volunteer 25 hours per year, providing dental services in a free clinic that is located in a dental HPSA or a medically underserved area, through another volunteer program operated by the state pursuant to part IV of chapter 110 [ [link removed] ] , or through a pro bono program approved by the Florida Board of Dentistry;
 • Specifying that the annual award for a qualifying dentist or dental hygienist is 20% of his or her principal loan amount at the time that he or she applies for the program, but may not be more than $50,000 per year for dentists or $7,500 per year for dental hygienists;
 • Specifying that a dentist or dental hygienist may receive up to five such awards and that the awards are not required to be awarded in consecutive years;
 • Eliminating language that limits participants to no more than 10 per fiscal year;
 • Clarifying that the program is meant to support the state Medicaid program; and
 • Appropriating $8 million for the program for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

The bill would also create a preceptor program known as the Training, Education and Clinicals in Health (TEACH) Funding Program. The program would provide a high-quality educational experience while supporting participating federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, rural health clinics and certified community behavioral health clinics by offsetting administrative costs and loss of revenue associated with training residents and students to become licensed health care practitioners. Under the program, the Florida Area Health Care Administration (AHCA) would be required to enter into an agreement with qualified facilities that agree to provide appropriate supervision or precepting of specified health care professionals, including dental residents, dental students and dental hygiene students. Facilities that participate in the program are eligible for hourly reimbursement rates of $50 for dental residents, $22 for dental students and $15 for dental hygiene students.
 
Effective Oct. 1, 2024, the sums of $14,888,903 in recurring funds from the General Revenue Fund and $20,036,979 in recurring funds from the Medical Care Trust Fund would be appropriated to the Florida AHCA to provide a Medicaid reimbursement rate increase for dental care services.
 
Finally, the bill would also create the Dr. and Mrs. Alfonse and Kathleen Cinotti Health Care Screening and Services Grant Program to fund the provisions of no-cost health care screenings or services for the general public by nonprofit entities. Dental screenings are included among eligible expenses under the grant program.
 
The bill has been sent to the state’s Senate for consideration.

Canada Announces Services Covered Under National Dental Care Plan
 
On Feb. 8, the Canadian government announced services that will be covered [ [link removed] ] under the Canadian Dental Care Plan. The plan will cover a range of specified diagnostic and preventative services, basic services, major services, anesthesia, sedation and orthodontic services.
 
The program, which opened to children under 12 whose families earn less than $90,000 CAD in 2023, is in the process of a gradual rollout [ [link removed] ] that will eventually expand coverage to income eligible individuals over the age of 65 by May and income eligible children under the age of 18 by June. Coverage will also require a co-pay of 40% for those with family incomes between $70,000 – $79,999 CAD, and a 60% co-pay for individuals with family incomes between $80,000 – $89,999 CAD.
 
Oral health care providers have, however, voiced concerns [ [link removed] ] about payment under the plan ahead of the release of 2024 reimbursement rates. While 2024 rates won’t be released until May, 2023 rates [ [link removed] ] are significantly lower than provincial fee guides. While it is not unusual for private plan rates to be lower than the guides, private plans are often closer than the current Canadian government rates.

2024 ADEA/AADOCR/Friends of NIDCR Advocacy Day
 
On Thursday, April 11, 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, DC. Participants will receive a legislative briefing and advocacy training on Wednesday, April 10, that will feature speakers from Congress, Health Resources and Services Administration and NIDCR. The next day 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. We hope to see you there!

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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
 • ADA Dentist and Student Lobby Day, Apr. 7-9, 2024. Register here [ [link removed] ] .
 • 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 Senior Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Contact Us:
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ]

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