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American Dental Education Association
Volume 2, No. 55, May 24, 2022
CDC Approves Pfizer Booster Shot for Children Ages 5 to 11
The United States has again surpassed 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day, though the actual number of cases likely is far above the case count, due to underreporting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 32% of the country live in areas that are now in the medium or high category for coronavirus spread.
Amid this backdrop, the CDC has recommended [ [link removed] ] that children between 5 to 11 years old have a third/booster dose. Only the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is approved for children ages 5 to 11 years old. Currently, less than one-third of children in this age group have received two doses. Children in this age group who received their last dose at least five months earlier are eligible to receive the additional doses immediately.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CDC initially approved vaccines for this age group in late 2021.
House Committee Approves ARPA-H Authorization
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee voted on a revised version committee of its Advanced Research Projects for Health (ARPA-H) authorizing bill the Advanced Research Project Agency-Health Act (H.R. 5585 [ [link removed] ] ). This newest bipartisan version passed by a 53 to 3 vote. H.R. 5585:
• Requires Senate and Presidential confirmation for appointments to leadership positions in the new agency,
• Requires information sharing in a timely manner with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to speed up Medicaid and Medicare coverage determinations of ARPA-H technologies and
• Encourages more cooperation between ARPA-H and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration so that the FDA can expedite review of breakthrough drugs and treatments.
The bill would also prohibit ARPA-H’s headquarters from being located within any part of existing National Institutes of Health (NIH) campuses. However, the Senate version of the ARPA-H authorization goes further than the House’s version. The Senate version prohibits ARPA-H from not only being located on the NIH’s campuses, but also from being located inside of or in close proximity to the Washington, D.C. area.
In addition to the differences regarding ARPA-H’s location, the House and Senate’s authorizing bills differ vastly on whether the agency would be independent or housed under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—though separately from NIH.
The Senate bill establishes ARPA-H within NIH as the Biden administration had proposed and as HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra set forth when he transferred $1 billion in ARPA-H money to the NIH in March.
The House bill establishes ARPA-H as an independent agency. It gives HHS six months to transfer everything—personnel, missions, activities, authorities and funds—into an independent-operating division within the HHS.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved in March authorizing language for ARPA-H as part of a pandemic preparedness bill, the PREVENT Pandemics Act (S. 3799 [ [link removed] ] ).
Missouri Bill Would Make Dentists, Dental Surgeons and Dental Hygienists Eligible for Student Loan Repayment Program
On May 18, the Missouri General Assembly sent a bill [ [link removed] ] to Gov. Mike Parson (R) that would make dentists, dental surgeons and dental hygienists eligible for the state’s medical student loan program. The authorizing statute [ [link removed] ] allows the program to issue to a limited number of students, loans that can be forgiven when loanees practice in a defined rural area or area of defined need. Loanees who practice in qualifying areas can have a quarter of the interest and principal of their total loan forgiven for each year they practice in a qualifying area. If signed into law, the bill would also increase the maximum annual amount to $25,000.
Additionally, the bill addresses two issues related to dental insurance. Under the bill, prepaid dental plans would be added to a statute requiring insurers to pay providers directly if a patient has assigned his or her insurance benefits to the provider. Additionally, the bill would add prepaid dental plans to the definition of “health carrier” for purposes of statutes regulating the assessment and validation of practitioners’ qualifications to provide patient care services and act as a member of the health carrier’s provider network.
Maryland and Tennessee to Add Dental Benefits for Adults Enrolled in Medicaid
On May 12, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed legislation [ [link removed] ] that will require the state’s Medicaid program to provide dental services to adults beginning in 2023. Following implementation, coverage will include diagnostic, preventive, restorative and periodontal service for all adults whose annual income is at or below 133% of the federal poverty level.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) was successful in a bid to add dental benefits for adults enrolled in Medicaid in his state [ [link removed] ] . The state’s recently passed budget included
• $25.5 million to provide adult dental benefits to TennCare enrollees,
• $11.8 million toward a multiyear commitment to recruit and retain dental providers and provide much-needed dental care for prosthodontic services.
After coverage is implemented in both states, Alabama will remain the only state that offers no dental benefits [ [link removed] ] to adults enrolled in Medicaid.
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
• HRSA Rural Public [ [link removed] ] Health Workforce Training Network Technical Assistance Program
• ADEA memo [ [link removed] ] regarding vaccines at the state level
• ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on teledentistry
• 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] ] .
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.
©2022
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.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
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