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Volume 1, No. 65, June 10, 2020

ADEA Advocacy in Action
This is a new feature that will appear 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.
 
Lost Clinic Revenue—Provider Relief Fund
May 1 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] with the Partnership for Medicaid on fund reimbursement for Medicaid providers.
April 30 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] with ADHA on availability of reimbursement from Fund.
April 17 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] with the Organized Dentistry Coalition urging HHS to include dentists in the Provider Relief Fund eligibility for lost revenue reimbursement.
 
Other COVID Issues
May 28 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] with the American Council on Education regarding liability protection shields.
May 18 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] with ADA and AADR in support of funding COVID-19 research.
April 21 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] with the American Council on Education to Congressional leaders asking that Federal emergency student aid not be considered as income.
 
Dental School COVID Related Capital Needs
May 13 – ADEA letter to Speaker Pelosi [ [link removed] ] and Rep. Frank Pallone [ [link removed] ] (D-NJ) about infrastructure improvements and modernization funds for dental schools,
 
2019 Graduate Licensure
April 9 – ADEA letter [ [link removed] ] to National Governors Association.
 
For a full list of ADEA Letters and Policy Memos, click here [ [link removed] ] .

Senate Holds Hearing on University Re-openings, ADEA Letter Cited in Hearing
 
The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing [ [link removed] ] on safe university re-openings. The various sectors of the nonprofit, higher education community were represented at the hearing as was the public health sector. Witnesses included Mitch Daniels, J.D., President of Purdue University; Christina Paxson, Ph.D., President of Brown University; Logan Hampton, Ph.D., President of Lane College; and Georges Benjamin, M.D., Executive Director of American Public Health Association.
 
The universities at the hearing planned to welcome students on campus in Fall 2020 as well as offer remote options for those who would not physically attend classes. All parties—the universities, the medical community and lawmakers—agree that there will be COVID-19 cases occurring on campuses. However, the universities stressed the importance of putting safety first and expressed their intent to establish robust testing programs. Their re-opening plans are being built around social distancing and testing.
 
During the hearing, the universities’ testing plans came under scrutiny when Dr. Benjamin pointed out that testing does not matter if the universities have no plan in place to ensure that tests are properly processed at a lab. Dr. Benjamin noted the importance of universities working closely with local and state health departments to ensure that the proper re-opening guidelines are being followed, but also universities should ensure that there is enough lab capacity to process the tests that the universities would be performing.
 
The divide [ [link removed] ] between the Democrats and Republicans on how universities should re-open became apparent during the hearing. Democrats expressed their safety concerns, noting the necessity of testing and the importance of protecting not only students, but also staff and faculty. They also asserted that the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ (CDC) recommendations were not specific enough, and therefore, the Democrats questioned universities’ ability to safely re-open given the lack of specific CDC guidance. Republicans felt that the CDC guidance was appropriate. They do not support overly proscriptive federal guidance, and instead believe that it would be best if universities worked with their local and state health departments to craft re-opening plans catering to the university’s individual needs.
 
The other chasm between the Democrats and Republicans centers on extending liability protection to universities. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Chairman of the HELP Committee, cited a letter [ [link removed] ] from the higher education community asking for liability protection. ADEA is signatory on the letter. In the letter, universities argue that they need to guard against lawsuits being brought against them due to the spread of COVID-19 on campus. HELP Committee Ranking Member Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are opposed to extending liability protection to universities. These Senators are concerned that if universities have no deterrence to adhere to various safety guidelines, they may be negligent in providing a safe environment. Their negligence can cause harm to students, staff and faculty. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made it clear that extending liability protection was a prerequisite for passing another COVID-19 bill.

Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits May Be on the Chopping Block as States Look to Shore Up Budgets
 
The economic slowdown created by the COVID-19 pandemic has created significant deficits in state budgets [ [link removed] ] throughout the country. Unlike the federal government, states must balance their budgets every year and, as a result, many will begin making cuts to discretionary programs. In some states that may mean cuts to optional Medicaid benefits like adult dental.
 
Colorado is one of the states that was hit hardest by the pandemic, and as it looks to shore up a $3.3 billion shortfall [ [link removed] ] , a bill proposing a reduction in dental benefits for adults on Medicaid is moving forward in the state’s General Assembly. On June 3, the state House of Representatives passed legislation [ [link removed] ] that would reduce the cap on dental benefits for adults on Medicaid by $500, and would cap benefits at $1,000 per adult beneficiary. The cap would be implemented after the requirement for a higher federal match through the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act expires. The cap would also expire after 2022.
 
Budget analysis [ [link removed] ] conducted by state officials estimates the reduction in benefits would result in just over $5.2 million in savings during fiscal year (FY) 2020-21, and nearly $10.5 million in FY 2021-22. Any savings would be transferred to the state’s general fund.
 
In California [ [link removed] ] , where the budget deficit is $54 billion, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has proposed a number of cuts to the state’s Medicaid program, including cuts to adult dental benefits. Under the Governor’s proposal, adult dental benefits would revert to 2014 levels, meaning enrollees would lose benefits that include gum disease treatment, deep cleanings, partial dentures and root canals.

Confusion Remains Over DACA Eligibility for COVID-19 Emergency Student Aid
 
The Department of Education (ED) recently posted a statement [ [link removed] ] on its website noting its guidance “does not have the effect of law” as it relates to the disbursement of funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The statement was an attempt to clarify confusion regarding whether Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students are eligible to receive emergency student financial grants from the CARES Act. Previously, ED stated that DACA students were not eligible because the funds were being disbursed in accordance with the Title IV regulations of the Higher Education Act. These regulations barred non-citizens from receiving financial aid. The CARES Act, which established the emergency student financial grants, gave ED latitude in deciding how to disburse funds.
 
Further, explanation surrounding ED’s statement was provided in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) court filing [ [link removed] ] in response to a lawsuit filed by the California Community Colleges against ED over DACA student eligibility for the emergency student financial grants. DOJ’s filing states that ED has no intention of “enforcing” the “non-binding guidance” because it “does not have the effect of law,” but that ED still believes that DACA students are prohibited from receiving the emergency student financial grants under other federal laws. DOJ asked that the case be dismissed because the guidance is non-binding.
 
Despite ED’s statement, confusion [ [link removed] ] still remains in the higher education community about DACA student eligibility for emergency student financial grants.

Iowa Expands Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
 
On June 1, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed a bill [ [link removed] ] expanding the types of controlled substances that are required to be reported to the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMP). The new law will require all prescriptions for Schedule III, IV and V controlled substances to be reported to the PMP, as well as prescriptions for substances that the PMP Advisory Council and Iowa Board of Pharmacy determine could be addictive or fatal, if not taken under the proper care and direction of a prescribing practitioner.
 
PMP reporting requirements vary by state. Resources providing an overview of current reporting requirements in all 50 states can be found at the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center [ [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.
 
©2020
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
202-289-7201, 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
 
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected]?subject=State%20Update%3A%20 ]

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