View this email in your browser [ [link removed] ] .

American Dental Education Association


Volume 2, No. 88, February 22, 2023

Senate HELP Committee Addresses Health Care Workforce Shortages
 
The Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing on Feb. 16 regarding barriers to increasing the nation’s health care workforce. Lawmakers were in agreement that the issue must be addressed, with Committee Chair U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) saying [ [link removed] ] , “A shortage of health care personnel was a problem before the pandemic and now it has gotten worse.” Elaborating further, Sen. Sanders said that the projected shortage of health care professionals in the next decade will require 120,000 more doctors as well as an even more pressing need for 450,000 nurses.
 
The Committee is considering a variety of strategies and reforms to shore up the health care workforce, including additional student loan forgiveness, more scholarship opportunities and extending mandatory funding for the National Health Service Corps and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. One key concern regarding medical education debt is that it can be a disincentive to serving in a rural or underserved area.
 
Sarah Szanton, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, said in her testimony [ [link removed] ] to the Committee that a significant factor in the nursing shortage is a lack of nursing educators. Committee Ranking Member U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has suggested easing education requirements for nursing educators to reduce potential barriers.
 
“It is important that funding for these programs is extended on time, in a bipartisan fashion, with the appropriate spending offsets,” Cassidy said.

Texas and Florida Governors Announce Anti-DEI Policies
 
On Feb. 4, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot’s (R) Chief of Staff sent to a memo [ [link removed] ] to the heads of state agencies stating that the use of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies when implemented as part of hiring practices are illegal. The memo asserted that the policies have “expressly favor some demographic groups to the detriment of others”, and that instead of increasing diversity in the workplace, the policies have had the “opposite effect”.
 
The memo has received significant pushback from the state’s Black and Latino lawmakers [ [link removed] ] . State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D), chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, has called the priorities in the memo misguided and an appeal to the state’s far right Republican base.
 
In addition to the memo, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) has stated that one of his top priorities [ [link removed] ] for this year’s legislative session will be banning professors from teaching critical race theory (CRT) and ending the use of DEI practices in hiring at universities.
 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also announced plans to introduce legislation [ [link removed] ] that will “ensure Florida’s public universities and colleges are grounded in the history and philosophy of Western Civilization; prohibit DEI, CRT and other discriminatory programs and barriers to learning; and course correct universities’ missions to align education for citizenship of the constitutional republic and Florida’s existing and emerging workforce needs.” DeSantis also announced in a press conference that cutting off funding for DEI programs will cause it to “whither on the vine [ [link removed] ] ”.
 
To date, at least 36 states [ [link removed] ] have enacted or proposed laws or policies that restrict teaching about race or racism. While many of these proposals have been limited to K-12 education, some are also aimed at institutions of higher education.

North Carolina House Passes Bill to Expand Medicaid
 
The North Carolina House of Representatives has passed legislation [ [link removed] ] that would expand Medicaid for state residents to include individuals who earn under 138% of the federal poverty level. The bill will now be sent to the Senate where it is expected to be amended to include reforms to the state’s Certificate of Need laws.
 
Last year, both chambers passed bills to expand Medicaid, but were unable to agree [ [link removed] ] on the same version of the bill. Legislation passed by the state’s Senate, included plans to reduce Certificate of Need requirements and increase autonomy for some mid-level providers. Those policies were not in the version passed by the state’s House of Representatives last year and are not included in the most recent bill.

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 Ryan White Part F Dental Reimbursement Program
 • 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.
 
©2023
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.adea.org [ [link removed] ]

twitter
[[link removed]]


Unsubscribe
[link removed]

Subscribe
[link removed][0]&p_colname=p_last_nm&p_varname=p_val_arr[1]&p_colname=p_alias&p_varname=p_val_arr[2]&p_colname=p_login_id&p_varname=p_val_arr[3]&p_colname=p_passwd&p_context=NEWSLETTER&p_success_url=censsaindprofile.section_update%3Fp_profile_ty%3DINDIVIDUAL_PROFILE%26p_skip_confirm_fl%3DY%26p_section_nm%3DNewsletters%26p_format%3D110%26p_msg_txt%3D%26p_cust_id%3D%26p_referrer%3D

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
 
Contact Us:
[email protected] [ [link removed] ]

Powered by Higher Logic [link removed]