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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 61, December 6, 2024

DEA Extends Telehealth Prescribing Flexibilities Until Dec. 31, 2025
 
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has extended the telemedicine prescribing flexibilities [ [link removed] ] that allow providers to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine without requiring an in-person visit. These flexibilities were initially introduced during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and were set to expire on Dec. 31, 2024. The extension prolongs these flexibilities until Dec. 31, 2025.
 
Currently, telemedicine providers are required by law to perform an in-person medical evaluation before prescribing controlled substances, with certain exceptions. The flexibilities introduced during the PHE removed this in-person requirement, allowing for telemedicine prescriptions without an initial in-person visit. The DEA's extension of these flexibilities will provide the agency with time to draft and finalize regulations on telemedicine prescribing and will allow health care providers time to comply with any new standards or safeguards that may emerge from these regulations. The extension will also allow more time for stakeholders to engage with policymakers to discuss any potential regulations before they are finalized.
 
The DEA previously proposed rules for telemedicine prescribing in February 2023, but these rules generated significant public feedback—over 38,000 comments—and were ultimately not adopted. A new draft rule was submitted for review in June 2024, but the draft rule imposed substantial barriers to telemedicine prescribing, including requiring that at least half of a provider’s controlled substance prescriptions be made in person. The proposed barriers caused substantial opposition from various stakeholders, resulting in the current third extension of the telemedicine prescribing flexibilities.

House Passes FAFSA Deadline Act
 
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, H.R. 8932, FAFSA Deadline Act [ [link removed] ] , by a vote of 381 to 1. The bill is overwhelmingly supported by both the Republican and Democratic parties.
 
The FAFSA Deadline Act is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) and would require the Department of Education (ED) to make the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available by Oct. 1 of each year. This allows students, parents and schools additional time to complete the FAFSA forms. The current “flexibility” in statute allows the ED not to release the FAFSA until Jan. 1.
 
The bill also requires ED to certify to Congress by Sept. 1 whether the FAFSA will be ready on Oct. 1. If the FAFSA will not be ready by Oct. 1, then the bill requires the Secretary of Education to testify to Congress on:
 1. The anticipated failure to meet the deadline; and
 2. The financial impact on students and families the late release will cause.

The law will be effective as of Oct. 1, 2025.

New York Governor Signs Bill to Promote Oral Health Awareness; Vetoes Bill to Prohibit Required Dental Insurer Discounts
 
On Nov. 15, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed legislation [ [link removed] ] that would allow the state’s health care and wellness education and outreach program [ [link removed] ] to conduct education and outreach initiatives that discuss the importance of good oral health, including but not limited to the impact of oral disease, causes of oral disease and its prevention, oral health across the lifespan, the total body connection, the value of early detection and the availability of oral health services in the community.
 
That same day, Gov. Hochul vetoed legislation [ [link removed] ] that would have prohibited dental insurers from requiring discounts for non-covered services. According to the bill’s sponsor, some insurers include discounts in their dental plans that they do not insure and then require dentists to provide discounts for those services in order to be a participating provider in the dental insurance plan.

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.
 
©2024
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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