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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 6, April 21, 2021

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
 • NHSC Service Loan Repayment Program user guide [ [link removed] ] and application portal [ [link removed] ]
 • ADEA memo [ [link removed] ] regarding vaccines at the state level
 • NIH funding opportunity [ [link removed] ] "Understanding and Addressing the Impact of Structural Racism and Discrimination on Minority Health and Health Disparities"
 • NIDCR funding opportunity [ [link removed] ] "Behavioral and Social Intervention Clinical Trial Planning and Implementation Cooperative Agreement"
 • For a full list of ADEA memos and letters click here [ [link removed] ] .

CDC and FDA Pause Use of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
 
In a joint advisement [ [link removed] ] , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration have “paused” the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, citing the need to learn more about the vaccine following the discovery of a new possible side effect. At issue is a rare and severe type of blood clot that may be connected to the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The six cases were among the 6.8 million Americans who have received a dose of the vaccine. All six cases were among women between the ages of 18 and 48. One woman died, and one was hospitalized in critical condition. The federal agencies stressed that this action is being taken out of an abundance of caution and that they will begin further investigation of this issue immediately.
 
Because the blood clots are rare, in the advisement, the CDC included instructions to physicians regarding how to treat these blood clots.
 
The Biden administration has said that the pause will not impact its goal [ [link removed] ] of 200 million vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days in office.

Dental Therapy Bill Passes Wisconsin Senate
 
On April 14, the Wisconsin Senate passed a bill [ [link removed] ] that would allow dental therapists to practice in the state. In addition to outlining training and licensing requirements as well scope of practice, the bill would require dental therapists to practice under a collaborative management agreement with a supervising dentist. The collaborative practice agreement would be required to outline specified procedures and practices, including the practice settings and populations the dental therapist is permitted to treat, and conditions or limitations on services that may be provided. The bill also limits dental therapists to practicing in either a federally defined dental shortage area or in practice settings where at least 50% of their patient base consists of specified underserved populations.
 
Dental therapy has been an issue considered during previous sessions [ [link removed] ] of the Wisconsin State Legislature, and Gov. Tony Evers (D) has stated his support in the past. Legislation allowing the practice of dental therapy has passed in 13 states [ [link removed]. ] . Eight states allow the practice statewide, four allow the practice on tribal lands and one allows the practice under a pilot program. Additionally, Maine [ [link removed] ] recently issued its first dental therapy license.

Maryland General Assembly Sends Multiple Bills Addressing Health Disparities to Governor
 
Before wrapping up their 2021 regular session on April 12, the Maryland General Assembly sent multiple bills to Gov. Larry Hogan (R) that could have an impact on health disparities in the state.
 
One of the bills, SB 565 [ [link removed] ] , would require the state to include on its annual Health Care Disparities Policy Report Card the racial and ethnic composition of individuals who hold a license or certificate issued by a health occupations board. Current law only requires this type of reporting for physicians. The bill also requires the Director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (MHHD) to annually meet with representatives of the Maryland Health Care Commission to examine the collection of health data that includes race and ethnicity information in the state, and identify any possible changes for improving the health data. Finally, the bill also requires MHHD to coordinate with specified state agencies to create and submit a plan to the General Assembly that reflects the state’s current goals and implementations to eliminate minority health disparities.
 
Another bill, SB 100 [ [link removed] ] , would create a task force on oral health care that includes the Dean of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, or the Dean’s designee, to examine issues related to access and barriers to care. The bill requires the task force to:
 • Analyze the current access to dental services for all residents of the state with a focus on the socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, age and disability of residents as factors impacting access to dental services.
 • Identify areas of the state where a significant number of residents are not receiving oral health care services, with a distinction between pediatric and adult populations, and identify specified barriers to receiving dental services in those areas.
 • Assess specified options for eliminating barriers.

SB 5 would require [ [link removed] ] implicit bias training for all applicants renewing a license or certificate issued by a health occupations board. Licensees would be required to complete a training program that has been approved by the Cultural and Linguistic Health Care Professional Competency Program in coordination with MHHD. The bill also requires MHHD to publish on its website health data it collects that includes race and ethnicity information and to update the data at least once every six months. Finally, the bill requires the governor to include an appropriation for MHHD in each annual budget beginning in 2023 that is either $1,788,314 or 1.2% of the funding allocated to the state’s Department of Health—whichever is greater.

ED Issues Letter Addressing Title IX Review
 
The Department of Education (ED) issued [ [link removed] ] a letter and press release [ [link removed] ] laying out its plan to implement a review of the current Title IX regulations. This action is in accordance with President Biden’s executive order signed on March 8. The order explicitly directed the Department to evaluate Title IX changes implemented during the Trump administration to determine if they are inconsistent with the Biden administration’s policies.
 
According ED’s letter, it will review the current regulations and hold public stakeholders’ hearings on the current regulations, including soliciting written comments from stakeholders. The letter from ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) also notes that it will issue a guidance soon to “provide additional clarity about how OCR interprets schools’ existing obligations under the 2020 amendments.” Once the review is complete, ED anticipates issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking for Title IX.

ADEA State Calendar [ [link removed] ]

ADEA Washington Calendar [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key Federal Issues [ [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.
 
©2021
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] [ [link removed] ]

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