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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 14, June 15, 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] ]
 • HRSA Faculty 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] ] .

HHS Extends Time to Use Provider Relief Fund Payments
 
On June 11, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revised [ [link removed] ] the June 30, 2021, deadline for expending funds received after June 30, 2020, from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). HHS also revised other PRF reporting requirements. The PRF was established by Congress to help providers offset major revenue shortfalls that emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Letters from both the health care community and Congress urged HHS to extend the deadlines.
 
Under the extension plan, hospitals that received an aggregate of $10,000 after June 30, 2020, during one of the distribution periods will have more time to use the funding. The deadlines to use the funding will be staggered based on the date the funds were received. For example, hospitals that received funds from July 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, will have until Dec. 31, 2021, to use their funding. Those that received funds between Jan. 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, will have until June 30, 2022. Providers that will receive funds between July 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021, will have until Dec. 31, 2022.
 
The revised reporting requirements [ [link removed] ] will be applicable to providers who received one or more payments exceeding, in the aggregate, $10,000 during a single payment received period from the PRF general distributions, targeted distributions and/or skilled nursing facility and nursing home infection control distributions. These reporting requirements do not apply to the Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Testing Program nor the two claims reimbursements programs, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program and the HRSA COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund.
 
The PRF Reporting Portal will open for providers on July 1, 2021.

OSHA Releases COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards for Health Care Settings
 
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released [ [link removed] ] new COVID-19 emergency temporary workplace safety rules [ [link removed] ] for health care workers on June 10, including a requirement that health care employers provide workers with paid time off to get vaccinated and to recover from side effects, and a requirement that non-exempt facilities conduct a hazard assessment and have a written plan to mitigate virus spread among other requirements.
 
The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) applies to health care settings where suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients are treated. This includes hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well as home health care and ambulatory care settings. The ETS exempts fully vaccinated workers from masking, distancing and barrier requirements when in well-defined areas where there is no reasonable expectation that any person will be present with suspected or confirmed coronavirus.
 
The rules are awaiting final approval and publication in the Federal Register, which OSHA said will occur soon. The rules take effect immediately upon publication. The compliance deadline for most provisions is within 14 days of publication in the Federal Register and within 30 days of publication for the remaining provisions. OSHA has said that it will use its enforcement discretion to avoid citing employers who miss a compliance deadline but are making a good faith effort to comply with the ETS.

Medicaid Expansion Update
 
State officials in Nebraska [ [link removed] ] recently announced they would no longer pursue plans to implement a tiered expansion of the state’s Medicaid system. The announcement came on June 8 as the plan faces legal challenges [ [link removed] ] as well as scrutiny by the Biden administration. If the plan had been implemented, it would have required most of the expansion population to comply with wellness and work requirements to receive some of the state’s standard Medicaid benefits, including dental, vision and over-the-counter medication.
 
Meanwhile, in Georgia [ [link removed] ] , officials have stated they are pressing forward with the state’s proposal for a partial Medicaid expansion plan, despite recent scrutiny from the Biden administration. A waiver allowing the state to implement a partial expansion plan was approved during the final days of the Trump administration, but recent reviews by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services led by new administration have indicated approval of the waiver may be overturned. The Biden administration has expressed concerns over the plan’s work requirements.

Maine Legislature Sends Numerous Bills Impacting Oral Health Professionals to the Governor
 
Both chambers of the Maine State Legislature recently passed several bills addressing oral health and oral health professionals in the state:
 • HP 734 [ [link removed] ] would add comprehensive dental benefits for adults on Medicaid. The bill has received broad support [ [link removed] ] in the state, but funding will still need be approved before it can be sent to Gov. Janet Mills (D).
 • HP 42 [ [link removed] ] creates a authorizes the use of teledentistry licensed oral health professionals and creates a definition of the term “teledentistry”. The bill also makes changes to the definitions of “direct supervision” and “general supervision”, as well as changes to the scope of services dental hygienists and dental therapists are permitted to provide under direct and general supervision. Finally, the bill also allows dentists to delegate certain tasks to unlicensed members of the dental team that do not require a license to perform. This bill will be sent to the Governor for review.
 • HP 1231 [ [link removed] ] authorizes the Maine Board of Dental Practice to grant limited dentist and dental hygienist licenses to individuals who are otherwise qualified, but did not obtain either a doctoral degree in dentistry or a dental hygiene degree from a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). If signed into law, the Board would be authorized to consider educational equivalency in determining the educational qualifications. Additionally, the bill authorizes the Board of Dental Practice to grant licensure by endorsement to otherwise qualified applicants for dentist faculty licenses, limited dentist licenses, expanded function dental assistant licenses, faculty dental hygiene licenses and faculty denturist licenses to those who are licensed in good standing in a U.S. territory, a foreign nation or a foreign administrative division that issues licenses in the dental professions. This bill will be sent to the Governor for review.
 • SP 33 [ [link removed] ] was signed into law on June 3. This bill authorizes the Board of Dental Practice to consider the educational equivalent of a doctoral degree in dentistry in determining the educational qualifications of an applicant for a resident dentist license who graduated from a dental program that was not accredited by CODA. The bill also reduces the exams an applicant for a resident dentist license must pass to only a jurisprudence examination and adds a requirement that dental services provided by a dental resident be provided in a Board-approved setting.
 • Finally, SP 34 [ [link removed] ] authorizes dentists to administer botulinum toxins or dermal fillers when supported by a patient’s diagnosed dental condition or as a part of a patient’s dental treatment plan. It also adds grounds the Board of Dental Practice may consider when taking disciplinary action against a dentist to include administering botulinum toxins or dermal fillers to a patient for a nondental condition or treatment. This bill will be sent to the Governor for consideration.

Missouri Becomes the Final State to Add a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
 
On June 8, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed a bill [ [link removed] ] to establish a statewide prescription drug monitoring program [ [link removed]. ] (PDMP). After implementation, Missouri will become the final state to add a PDMP.
 
PDMP’s are statewide databases used to track prescriptions of controlled substances in a state. The systems can provide prescribers or other officials an opportunity to intervene when unusual prescribing patterns are detected. Privacy concerns had previously prevented the state from adopting the PDMP, but after almost a decade of attempts [ [link removed] ] , the bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Holly Rehder (R), was successful in guiding this legislation to passage.

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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