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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 10, May 18, 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 and application
  • ADEA regarding vaccines at the state level
  • ADEA on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
  • ADEA policy regarding overprescription of antibiotics
  • For a full list of ADEA memos and letters click .
U.S. Department of Education Releases $36 Billion in Aid to Higher Education Institutions

 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) more than $36 billion in emergency funding appropriated under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). This funding is provided by the ARP’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF III). Accompanying the release announcement was instructing institutions on how the funding could be used, information on how to apply for the funding and funding as well as student eligibility requirements.

 

HEERF III requires institutions to use half of the funding they receive to provide direct relief to students. The remainder of the funding can be used by public and private nonprofit institutions for institutional costs, such as lost revenue, payroll, training and a variety of other uses. However, all the funding that proprietary institutions receive can only be used for student financial aid.

 

The student eligibility requirement came in the form of a , allowing institutions to award emergency funding under HEERF III to undocumented and international students as long as the students were enrolled at the institution “on or after the date the national emergency was declared for COVID-19” and meet other need-based requirements. The new final rule essentially reverses the Trump administration’s decision not to award emergency funding to undocumented and international students. While the Trump administration argued that congressional intent was in alignment with their prohibiting undocumented and international students from receiving emergency grants, the Biden administration points to the same congressional intent language asserting that it was Congress’s intent to allow undocumented and international students access to emergency grants.
CDC Says Fully Vaccinated People no Longer Need Masks

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released saying that fully vaccinated people no longer had to wear masks indoors or outdoors, with a few exceptions. The CDC pointed to the “real-world evidence” showing the vaccines’ high efficacy, even against variants. The CDC noted, however, that masks will still be required on airplanes, buses, trains and other public transportation, in health care settings and where state or local orders still require them.

 

The CDC’s new guidance comes after a flurry of complaints from vaccinated people, who saw no benefit in being vaccinated since they were still under the same restrictions as unvaccinated people.

 

The CDC also reiterated that unvaccinated people still remain at risk for mild or severe illness and death and should continue to wear masks.
Texas House Passes Teledentistry Legislation

 

On May 8, the Texas House of Representatives voted to that would add a definition of teledentistry to the state’s telehealth laws. The following are among the changes made by the bill:

  • Teledentistry would include both synchronous and asynchronous communication as described in the bill.
  • The state’s Medicaid program would be required to reimburse dentists at the same rate as in-person dental service.
  • Private insurers would be required to provide coverage for a covered service or procedure delivered by a preferred or contracted health professional on the same basis and to the same extent that the plan provides coverage for the service or procedure in an in-person setting.
  • The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE) would be permitted to adopt rules to address specified teledentistry topics that include allowing dentists to simultaneously delegate to and supervise through a teledentistry dental service, up to five health professionals who are not dentists.
  • TSBDE would also be required to adopt rules that prohibit a dentist from prescribing more than a two-day period for an opiate or a five-day period for a controlled substance other than an opiate. (This period may be extended by a day if the period for which the prescription is prescribed includes a weekend or national holiday.)

Earlier this year, TSBDE determined that teledentistry . The bill has been sent to the State Senate for consideration.
Update on Medicaid Expansion

 

On May 6, Republicans in the Joint Finance Committee removed Medicaid expansion from the budget submitted by Gov. Tony Evers (D). The vote took place after a contentious Committee hearing and strictly followed party lines. Medicaid expansion was one of 380 items removed from the Governor’s budget.

 

In , Gov. Mike Parson (R) announced that his state withdrew a waiver request submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow the state to expand its Medicaid program. The announcement follows a refusal by the state’s legislature to fund the expansion, despite voters adding a requirement to expand the program to the state’s constitution in August 2020.

 

To date, have not adopted Medicaid expansion. Although the recently passed America Rescue Plan Act for those states to adopt the expansion, little progress has been made to date.

California Bill Would Make Changes to the State’s Dental Hygiene Practice Act

 

The California Senate recently that would make numerous changes to laws governing dental hygienists. The bill, which is sponsored by the Dental Hygiene Board of California (DHBC), would do the following:

  • Make special permits that allow dental hygienists who are licensed in other states to teach in California. These permits are valid for four years and the bill stipulates that the permits are not renewable. (Under current law, the permits do not have a time limit.)
  • Require out-of-state dental hygienists teaching under a special permit, if teaching during clinical practice sessions, to furnish evidence of having successfully completed a DHBC-approved course in periodontal soft-tissue curettage, local anesthesia and nitrous oxide-oxygen analgesia.
  • Require out-of-state dental hygienists teaching under a special permit to comply with specified fingerprint submission requirements.
  • Require an applicant for a license by reciprocity, who has not taken a clinical examination before the DHBC, to submit satisfactory evidence of having successfully completed a course or education and training in local anesthesia, nitrous oxide, oxygen analgesia and periodontal soft-tissue curettage approved by the DHBC.
  • Extend the term of the general or public health dentist member of the DHBC, and state that no more than three members’ terms can expire in any given year. The bill also makes a board member who is appointed to fill an unexpired term, eligible to serve two complete consecutive terms.
  • Revise authorization requirements for a Registered Dental Hygienist in an Alternative Practice (RDHAP) to operate a mobile dental hygiene clinic, in specified settings, by deleting the requirement that the mobile dental hygiene clinic be a temporary substitute site as provided by the RDHAP’s property and casualty insurer, and that the RDHAP’s place of practice has been rendered unusable due to loss or calamity.
  • Authorize the DHBC to conduct announced and unannounced reviews and inspections of a mobile dental hygiene clinic to ensure continued compliance. The bill also states that it is considered unprofessional conduct if a mobile dental hygiene clinic is found to be noncompliant with any of the necessary licensure requirements. If found noncompliant, the RDHAP then may be placed on probation with terms, issued a citation and a fine or have the mobile dental hygiene clinic registration withdrawn if compliance is not demonstrated within reasonable timelines, as established by the DHBC.
  • Add knowingly making a statement or signing a certificate or other document that falsely represents the existence or nonexistence of a fact directly or indirectly related to the practice of dental hygiene to the list of items that may be considered unprofessional conduct.
  • Add remedial education to the list of probationary terms and conditions.

The 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.

 

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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

 

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