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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 76, November 16, 2022

Dems Retain Control of the U.S. Senate
 
The U.S. Senate will remain under the control of Democrats. Of the races called as of this writing, the Democrats have 50 seats and the Republicans hold 49, pending the outcome of the Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia.
 
If the Republican candidate, Hershel Walker, were to win that seat the Senate would again be equally divided 50-50 between the parties with Vice President Kamila Harris, who serves as President of the Senate, casting the deciding organizational vote which would allow the Democratic party to retain control of the schedule of legislation and the committees. If the incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) wins the runoff, then the Democrats will have outright control with 51 seats.
 
The next phase will be the two parties’ organizational meetings where party leadership and committee chairs and membership are determined. The outcome of these meetings will be crucial to the approach the parties will take on legislative and policy agendas. We will report as decisions are made.

U.S. House Still too Close to Call
 
As of Monday morning, control of the U.S. House of Representatives remains undecided. Of the 435 seats up for election, only 20 remain to be called. As it stands, Republicans have a slight lead, with 212 seats and Democrats are close behind with 203 [ [link removed] ] . While Democrats have a very narrow path to maintain the majority, Republicans appear likely to retake the House as 218 seats are needed to establish a majority. Regardless of outcome, the party that takes the House will have a slim majority and tight control of the chamber will be elusive.
 
This is a particularly close election, defying historical trends and surprising many [ [link removed] ] . Traditionally, a first term President’s party can expect to take losses [ [link removed] ] in the midterm elections. It had been widely understood that the Democrats had several disadvantages working against them. However, after retaining control of the Senate and with results for the House still coming in, this has not been the case this cycle.
 
A contentious election season seems poised to set up a closely divided government for the next two years. Regardless of which party winds up on top, the climate of polarization and congressional gridlock can be expected to continue. These last few seats should be decided in the coming days and will determine which party will be in the majority and will thus set the Congressional agenda for the next two years.

Judge Temporarily Halts the Biden-Harris Student Debt Relief Plan
 
On Nov. 10, a Texas judge issued an order [ [link removed] ] against the Department of Education (ED) in the Myra Brown, et al. v U.S. Department of Education et al. [ [link removed] ] case. The plaintiffs in the case argued that the debt relief plan violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not seeking public comment on the plan and harmed two plaintiffs who did not meet the eligibility requirements for debt relief. One plaintiff has student loans that are now privately held and not eligible for forgiveness. The second plaintiff was eligible for just $10,000 in debt forgiveness—not $20,000—because he did not receive a Pell Grant.
 
According to their compliant, “plaintiffs want an opportunity to present their views to the Department and to provide additional comments on any proposal from the Department to forgive student loan debts.” They believe that it is “irrational, arbitrary and unfair” to exclude them from Student Debt Relief Plan. The judge agreed with this argument and further believed that the basis for the program itself was unconstitutional.
 
The order states that the program is based on “an unconstitutional exercise” of Congress’s legislative power and the court declared the Biden Harris Student Loan Debt Relief Plan unlawful and vacated the program. This order prohibits ED from enforcing, applying or implementing the plan nationwide, which effectively halts the Biden-Harris Student Debt Relief Plan. In response to the order, ED has taken down the application for the Student Loan Debt Relief Plan while it appeals the decision.
 
There have been several lawsuits filed in an attempt to stop the program. All but the Brown case and the State of Nebraska et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. et al. [ [link removed] ] case have been dismissed based on lack of standing. In the Nebraska case, which was brought by Republican State Attorneys General, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay while it considers a motion from the states to block the program. The stay ordered the Biden-Harris administration not to act on the program while it considers the appeal. However, the stay did not halt the acceptance of applications; it only prevented the program from actually moving forward with cancelling the loans. This is why until the order in the Brown case was issued, ED continued to accept applications.

State Health and Higher Education Ballot Initiative Results
 
On Nov. 8, voters in a handful of states decided state policy on several questions that will impact both health care and higher education.
 
In Massachusetts [ [link removed] ] , voters overwhelmingly approved a measure that required dental insurers to implement a medical loss ratio. Dental insurers in the state will now be required to spend at least 83% of revenue on patient care instead of administrative expenses. If insurers do not meet the medical loss ratio, they will be required to refund the excess premium to covered individuals and groups. The proposal also directed the Massachusetts Division of Insurance Commissioner to approve or disapprove the rates of dental benefit plans. While the Affordable Care Act implemented medical loss ratios for health insurers, this is the first law in the country to require a medical loss ratio for dental insurers.
 
A ban on the sale of flavored tobacco was passed by voters in California [ [link removed] ] . The vote is one more piece of an ongoing battle that started in 2020, when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 793 [ [link removed] ] , which banned the sale of flavored tobacco products. However, before the law could take effect, tobacco manufacturers successfully gathered enough signatures [ [link removed] ] to place a referendum of the law on the ballot. Despite voters overwhelmingly approving the measure, the fight to ban the sale of flavored tobacco is still not over as tobacco manufacturer, RJ Reynolds, filed a lawsuit [ [link removed] ] in federal court to prevent implementation of the law. The argument presented by RJ Reynolds is that local and state governments lack the authority to challenge federal law under the Tobacco Control Act, which has already been rejected by a federal court in a previous lawsuit.
 
In Arizona [ [link removed] ] , Proposition 308 asked voters if graduates of Arizona high schools should be granted in-state tuition and financial aid, regardless of immigration status. The vote on this measure is still too close to call [ [link removed] ] , but if passed, the ballot initiative would overturn parts of a 2006 referendum that currently prohibits students who are undocumented from receiving in-state tuition and financial aid. There are potentially tens of thousands of students who could benefit [ [link removed] ] from the policy change.
 
In Oregon [ [link removed] ] a vote to decide if the state will add a right to health care to the state’s constitution is still too close to call [ [link removed]®ion=StateNavMenu ] . If passed, the state would be required to provide residents with “access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care.”
 
Finally, the electorate in South Dakota [ [link removed] ] voted in favor of expanding Medicaid to include adults who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Similar initiatives have passed in six other states [ [link removed] ] . Nearly 45,000 residents are expected to become eligible for coverage.

Democrats Make Gains at the State Level, but Republicans Still Dominate State Legislatures
 
Although historical trends [ [link removed] ] suggested Democrats would lose state legislative seats during this year’s midterm elections, last week’s results had surprising returns for Democrats who managed to reduce the number of state legislatures controlled by Republicans. At the time of writing, The Michigan House, Michigan Senate, the Minnesota House and the Pennsylvania House had all flipped [ [link removed] ] and will be under Democratic control in 2023.
 
However, despite those flips, Republicans still maintain a strong lead in terms of overall control of state legislatures. At the time of writing, Republicans are guaranteed to control 55 of the country’s 98 partisan chambers (Nebraska’s unicameral legislature is technically non-partisan), going into 2023.
 
Despite some early themes, the story of the 2022 midterm elections is not yet complete as several chambers still remain too close to call. Both chambers in Arizona, New Hampshire and Nevada still remain undecided. (Arizona and New Hampshire are currently controlled by Republicans, while Democrats hold a majority in Nevada.)

Gubernatorial Incumbents Fare Well, Some Races Still Too Close to Call, But Few Surprises in Elections for Top State Executives
 
Throughout the country, incumbent governors performed well in their bids for reelection [ [link removed] ] . The lone incumbent who lost was Steve Sisolak (D) in Nevada. Sisolak was defeated by Republican challenger Joe Lombardo who was able to claim the only gubernatorial flip for Republicans during this election cycle.
 
As expected, Democrats flipped seats in Maryland and Massachusetts, both traditionally blue states where popular moderate Republican governors were term limited. In Maryland, Wes Moore (D) will become the state’s first and the country’s third elected black Governor, while in Massachusetts Maura Healey (D) will become the country’s only openly lesbian Governor.
 
Democrats also flipped the Governor’s seat in a tightly contested race in Arizona. In that state Democrat Katie Hobbs will replace the term limited Doug Ducey (R).
 
New Democratic Governors Elect will replace term limited Democrats in Pennsylvania and Oregon. In Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro (D) will assume office, while in Oregon Tina Kotek (D) won a close three-person race.

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
 • Applications open [ [link removed] ] for HRSA Dental Public Health Research Fellowship
 • 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] ] .

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [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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