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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 12, June 2, 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
 • 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] ] .

Democrats Seek Stakeholder Input on New Public Health Insurance Option
 
Congressional Democrats have begun the process of crafting legislation that would create a public health insurance option, though the White House has not said that funding for this option will be included in the President’s fiscal year 2022 budget. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee for the U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released a Request for Information (RFI) [ [link removed] Option.2021.5.26._FINAL.pdf ] seeking public input on the design of a public health insurance option that would significantly expand coverage while lowering health care costs.
 
The Committees are seeking information on everything, from who should be eligible for the public option to what should be the role of states in a federally administered public option to how should the public option interact with public programs, including Medicaid and Medicare? More importantly, the Committees are asking for information and suggestions on how prices should be determined and what criteria should be considered in determining prices. Questions surrounding prices will ultimately impact provider reimbursement.
 
The Committees’ goal in “establishing a federally administered public option is to work towards achieving universal coverage, while making health care simpler and more affordable for patients and families.” The responses to the RFI are due July 31.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Becomes First African American to Lead CMS
 
The Senate confirmed Chiquita Brooks-LaSure by a 55-44 vote to become the new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator. Brooks-LaSure is the first African American to head the agency and has the policy chops and political know-how needed to do so. During the Obama administration, she worked in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), focusing on the implementation the Affordable Care Act. Brooks-LaSure also worked to get the law passed as a staff member for the Ways and Means Committee for the U.S. House of Representatives, where she also served with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, who was a congressional member of the Committee at the time.

FDA Changes Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Storage Requirements
 
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently changed its storage requirements for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine [ [link removed] ] . The change in refrigeration requirements will allow for easier and more widespread use of the vaccine. The FDA’s new authorization approves of storing the undiluted, thawed vials of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for up to one month at refrigerator temperatures. Previously, thawed, undiluted vaccine vials could be stored in the refrigerator for only up to five days.
 
The FDA also released a fact sheet for health care providers administering the vaccine [ [link removed] ] , informing and explaining to providers the new storage requirements.

Nebraska Governor Signs Bill Clarifying Rules for Faculty Dental Licenses
 
On May 21, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) signed a bill [ [link removed] ] that made numerous changes to laws governing faculty dental licenses in the state. The bill made the following changes:
 • It allows a faculty licensee to participate in an institutionally administered faculty practice, with no restriction that the practice be only at the College of Dentistry where the faculty member is employed.
 • It allows faculty licensees who did not graduate from an accredited School of Dentistry to only practice clinical disciplines in which the licensee has practiced under a license within the past three years in another jurisdiction, with approval of the Nebraska Board of Dentistry.
 • It eliminates from the list of eligibility requirements for a faculty license that a person must have a contract to be employed as a full-time faculty member at an accredited School of Dentistry in the state of Nebraska.
 • It eliminates from the list of eligibility requirements that a person agree to demonstrate continuing clinical competency as a condition of licensure, if required by the Board.
 • It clarifies that holding a faculty license or a teaching permit from another jurisdiction within the past three years meets the requirement for eligibility for a faculty license when a person has graduated from an accredited School of Dentistry. Current law requires a license from another jurisdiction that has been held within the past five years.
 • It states that faculty licenses could only be renewed if the faculty licensee completes continuing education and demonstrates continued employment at an accredited School or College of Dentistry in the state.
 • It allows an individual who graduated from a nonaccredited School of Dentistry who has held a license in the past three years in another jurisdiction to be eligible for a faculty license.
 • It allows a person who graduated from a nonaccredited School of Dentistry who has additional education that is determined by the Board to be equivalent to a program that would be a postgraduate degree recognized by Commission on Dental Accreditation, to be eligible for a faculty license if the person passes additional examinations specified in the bill.
 • It requires an individual who graduated from a nonaccredited School of Dentistry who is applying for a faculty license based upon additional education to present a portfolio of academic achievements, credentials, certifications, letters of recommendation and a list of publications to the Board.

Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Allowing Initial Licensure Exams for Dentists to Include Nonhuman Subjects
 
On May 18, Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill [ [link removed] ] that will allow candidates for dental licensure in Tennessee to take an initial exam that does not include a live human subject. Like many states, Tennessee temporarily suspended [ [link removed] ] the requirement for human subjects at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
More information about licensure requirements and changes in all 50 states can be found here [ [link removed] ] .

Michigan and New Mexico Adopt Finalized Dental Therapy Regulations
 
In May, Michigan [ [link removed] ] Board of Dentistry regulations for dental therapists were published in the state register (on page 33), and on May 25, New Mexico [ [link removed] ] Board of Dental Health Care dental therapy regulations were adopted. The new rules in both states establish requirements for licensure, scope of practice, practice agreements with licensed dentists as well as disciplinary proceedings. The rules also establish practice settings where dental therapists are permitted to serve patients and in general, the rules limit dental therapists to practicing in settings that traditionally assist underserved populations.

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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