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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 30, November 2, 2021
Build Back Better Act Revised, Medicaid Oral Health Benefit Removed

 

President Biden released a for his human capital infrastructure agenda called the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376). The original version of this legislation contained provisions that expanded Medicare benefits to include oral health, vision and hearing. In this latest version, only the hearing benefit remains. The likely reason that the oral health benefit was not included in this version is the associated cost, estimated at $80 billion per year once fully implemented.

 

The revised framework also includes provisions that will provide Medicaid coverage to 4 million persons living in states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act by providing premium tax credits to them. It would increase Pell Grants by $550 (the current maximum Grant is $6,345) and extend access to young, undocumented immigrants/DREAMers. These two actions would assist more than 5 million students, according to the White House. Investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and other Minority-Serving Institutions are also included.

 

The timetable for completion of the legislation is uncertain but will likely take most of the remainder of the calendar year.
Updates on Recently Introduced Oral Health-related Legislation in the House

 

U.S. Reps. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.) and David McKinley (R-W.V.) introduced the Student Assisted Vaccination Effort Act (SAVE) (). For purposes of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, the legislation expands the definition of qualified persons who can administer vaccines to include health professional students. It would enable dental and other health professional students to provide vaccines during public health emergencies.

 

Currently, state or federal authorities would have to specifically include dental and other health professional students in their public health emergency decree before they could provide vaccines during public health emergencies.

 

While ADEA supports this bill, ADEA has also expressed concern that the legislation does not include dental hygiene students.

 

Another piece of legislation of interest to the oral health community was recently included in a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee: the Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act of 2021 (). Introduced by U.S. Reps. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), the bill authorizes a public education campaign across all relevant programs of the Health Resources and Services Administration to increase oral health literacy and awareness for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. The stated goal of H.R. 4555 is to provide a key tool in preventing poor oral health through the promotion of oral health literacy.

ADEA Releases Teledentistry: Innovation to Improving Access and Delivery to Oral Health Care Services

 

The COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders accelerated the rapid expansion of telehealth and its increased utilization. Teledentistry, a subcategory of telehealth, has become a commonly accepted form of oral health care delivery, including in specialty dentistry, and has played an important role in reducing health disparities and achieving equitable health.

 

Last week, ADEA released a new ADEA Policy Research Series report, , which outlines state regulations and reimbursement mechanisms for teledentistry, the role of teledentistry in minimizing oral health disparities through practice and dental education and teledentistry’s compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) for the prevention and treatment of oral health diseases. The report provides information about the benefits of including teledentistry in dental education and continuing to expand this important field.
California Gov. Signs Bill Increasing Licensure Reciprocity for Military Spouses and Domestic Partners

 

In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that will increase licensure reciprocity for spouses and domestic partners of members of the military. Beginning in July 2023, all licensing boards in the state will be required to to spouses and domestic partners who hold an active license in another U.S. jurisdiction. Expedited temporary licenses issued under the law are valid for one year, are not renewable and must be issued within 30 days of receiving required documentation.

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
  • ADEA regarding vaccines at the state level
  • ADEA on teledentistry
  • 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, briefs and letters click .

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.

 

©2021

American Dental Education Association

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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

 

Higher Logic