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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 17, July 7, 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
 • Provider Relief Fund Reporting 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] ] .

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Transgender Case
 
The Supreme Court declined to hear [ [link removed] ] the Gloucester County v. Gavin Grim case. Though the Court did not state why it did not take up the case, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would have accepted the case. This leaves intact the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit’s decision in the case, which was in favor of the student Gavin Grimm.
 
In a 2-to-1 decision last August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the Gloucester County School Board had discriminated on the basis of sex and violated the 14th Amendment by prohibiting Grimm from using the bathroom that aligned with his gender identity. His high school offered a single-stall restroom as an alternative.
 
The Supreme Court once again side stepped a decision, which would have national implications, regarding whether transgendered individuals can use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
 
However, because certiorari was denied, schools in those states covered by 4th Circuit rulings—Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina—must allow students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

Provider Relief Fund Reporting Portal Opens
 
The Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal [ [link removed] ] is now open. Providers who need to report in Reporting Period 1 have until Sept. 30 to submit their information as part of the post-payment reporting process.
 
Updated reporting requirements [ [link removed] ] were published on June 11.
 
Providers and stakeholders can register for a webcast [ [link removed] ] scheduled for July 8, 3 p.m. Eastern Time. There are also user guides, Frequently Asked Questions and a Provider Support Line online. All of these resources and more may be found on the Department of Health and Human Services’ Reporting and Auditing webpage [ [link removed] ] .
 
Under the updated reporting requirements, the deadlines to use the funding will be staggered based on the date the funds were received. These reporting requirements 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 Service Administration’s (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program and the HRSA COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund.

Oregon Dental Therapy Bill Headed to Governor
 
In late June, the Oregon State Legislature passed legislation [ [link removed] ] that would authorize dental therapists to practice statewide. The state already allows dental therapists to train to practice in certain tribal communities under a pilot program [ [link removed] ] , and has also authorized a pilot program for training dental therapists [ [link removed] ] at Pacific University. If signed into law, dental therapists would be required to practice under a collaborative agreement with a licensed dentist. In addition to outlining the scope of practice and elements required to be included in collaborative agreements, the bill also requires dental therapists to practice in dental health professional shortage areas or dedicate at least 51% of their practice to patients who represent underserved populations.
 
The bill will now be sent to Gov. Kate Brown (D) for consideration.

Governor of Maine Signs Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program Bill
 
On June 23, Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed a bill [ [link removed] ] to create the Maine Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program. Once established, the program will annually distribute a targeted number of awards to repay student loans of some of the state’s health care workers. Licensed dental practitioners who are residents of the state, have student loan debt and are not a current beneficiary of a state or federal loan repayment program are eligible for the new program. The targeted awards will be based on a point system developed by an advisory committee that, at a minimum, must prioritize priority occupations, work locations in underserved areas and student income-to-debt ratios. The bill prohibits annual awards from
 • Exceeding $30,000 annually,
 • Exceeding $90,000, in aggregate, or 50% of a recipient’s outstanding eligible student loan debt or
 • Being granted to a recipient for more than three years total.

New Jersey Passes Dentist Vaccine Bill
 
Last week, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill [ [link removed] ] that would grant dentists the authority to administer vaccines for influenza and the human papillomavirus to any patient 18 years or older, if approved to do so by the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry. Additionally, the bill allows the State Board of Dentistry to certify a dentist to administer immunizations to patients 18 years or older that are intended to prevent or reduce the transmission of a disease that is the basis for a declared public health emergency.
 
The bill will be sent to the Governor for review.

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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