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American Dental Education Association
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Volume 1, No. 25, July 30, 2019

New Hampshire to Develop Value-Based Care Model for Adult Dental Benefits Covered by Medicaid
 
On July 24, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed legislation [ [link removed] ] that ends the state’s ban on the inclusion of adult dental benefits under the Medicaid Managed Care program. The bill also creates a working group to develop a value-based care model for adult dental benefits covered by Medicaid that pays oral health providers based upon “positive health outcomes” while also reducing costs. A fee-for-service model is prohibited from being included in the final plan, which is required to be submitted to the state legislature no later than Oct. 1.

New York and Ohio Become the Latest States to Pass Tobacco 21 Laws
 
According
to the American Cancer Society [ [link removed] ] , 95% of smokers begin smoking before the age of 21. In response, several states and municipalities have enacted laws that raise the age to legally purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 as part of the latest public policy trend that attempts to prevent youth from using tobacco. On July 16, New York [ [link removed]
] became the 17th state to enact such a law, and on July 18, Ohio [ [link removed] ] became 18th. In addition to the 18 states that have passed these laws, nearly 475 municipal governments [ [link removed] ] also prohibit the sale of tobacco to individuals under the
age of 21.

Fight Over Soda Tax May Be Coming Back to California
 
A new coalition in California [ [link removed] ] is advocating for a two-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks, and an end to a state law that prohibits localities from implementing similar taxes through 2030. The coalition, Californians for Less Soda, which consists of 13 advocacy organizations and trade associations, will be advocating for passage of legislation that would accomplish these goals, or could push for the policies to be placed on 2020 ballots.
 
Legislation that would have accomplished these goals, California Community Health Fund (A.B. 138), was proposed during the current legislative session, but that bill is unlikely to be considered this year by the California State Legislature after failing to meet deadlines for legislative action. The bill will be eligible for consideration in 2020.

Federal Budget Negotiations Successful, Bill Passes House
 
The budget negotiations we reported on in previous issues of the ADEA Advocate concluded successfully with all members of the bipartisan and bicameral leadership, as well as the Donald Trump Administration, praising the agreement.
 
On July 26, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2019 (H.R. 3877 [ [link removed] ] ), by a vote of 284-149. The BBA now heads to the U.S. Senate, which is also expected to pass the bill before Congress leaves for its traditional August recess. The legislation had the support of most Democrats and 65 Republicans. But most Republicans opposed it, citing its $320-billion spending increase over two years and lack of sufficient offsets—despite appeals for their support from President Trump.
 
The legislation extends the debt ceiling for two years, controlling the overall amount that the government may borrow. Most importantly for oral health programs, it raises the statutory, non-defense discretionary spending cap for fiscal year (FY) 2020 by $24.5 billion over FY19. This does not mean we will likely see funding increases in programs important to dental education, but it does mean that we are unlikely to see decreases.
 
Perhaps U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies said it best: "Every now and then you need to sit down and put what’s good for the American people first. We all know that a catastrophic debt ceiling crisis and default, what that would do to our economy, how many people that would put out of work. ...These are huge, huge wins."

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Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

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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.
 
©2019
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
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Senior Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
Ambika R. Srivastava, M.P.H.
ADEA/Sunstar Americas, Inc./Jack Bresch Legislative Intern
 
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected]?subject=State%20Update%3A%20 ]

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