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American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 96, April 27, 2023
ADEA Holds Capitol Hill Briefing on Health Care Worker Shortages

 

On April 19, ADEA sponsored a joint legislative briefing on Capitol Hill. The briefing highlighted health care worker shortages and the corresponding need to fully fund Title VII Oral Health Training programs and Title VIII programs, which are important funding sources for dental and other health care schools. U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess, M.D., (R-Texas) and Diana DeGette, (D-Colo.)—two long-time champions of health care workers—delivered remarks at the briefing.

 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for dentists is projected to grow 6% from 2021 to 2031, and for dental hygienists the demand is projected to grow by 9% from 2021 to 2031.

 

Significant unmet need exists for dental care, especially in vulnerable and underserved populations. Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that 70 million Americans live in the 7,323 dental shortage areas nationwide, requiring 11,957 additional practitioners to meet the need.

 

Marion C. Manski, RDH, M.S., represented ADEA on the briefing panel. Prof. Manski, who is Associate Professor and Director of Dental Hygiene at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, discussed how Title VII Oral Health Training Programs are helping to fix the dental access gap. Prof. Manski shared relevant examples of her experience as a faculty member, Program Director and in clinical settings. She clearly correlated the need for oral health faculty to shortages in the dental workforce.

 

ADEA sponsored the briefing with the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC). HPNEC is an alliance of more than 90 national health care organizations dedicated to training a health care workforce that meets the needs of all patients. ADEA works with HPNEC to advocate for funding and other issues of importance to the oral health community.

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Health Care Workforce Shortages

 

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Health Subcommittee held a hearing titled “Existing Federal Programs to Build a Stronger Health Workforce and Improve Primary Care.” The Health Subcommittee discussed several existing federal programs and proposed legislation related to health care workforce, primary care services, organ procurement competition, countermeasure injury compensation transparency and diabetes research and treatment.

 

Of the eight bills being considered, three were of interest to ADEA. They are:

 

  1. , the “Strengthening Community Care Act of 2023”, authored by U.S. Reps. John Joyce (R-Pa.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) would extend funding for the Community Health Center Fund and National Health Service Corps for five years.
  2. H.R._____, to extend funding for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program, would extend funding for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program for three years. Note that a bill number has not yet been assigned to this legislation.
  3. , the “Doctors of Community or the DOC Act”, authored by Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) would make the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program permanent and increase its funding to $582.7 million by fiscal year 2033.

These bills are important to ADEA because as part of their clinical training, dental students and dental residents are often providers in community health centers. Likewise, the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program is a source of dental school funding. The program also provides additional clinical training opportunities for dental school graduates. In addition to reauthorizing community health centers, H.R. 2559 also reauthorizes the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships to dental students and loan repayment to dental school graduates.

 

There is bi-partisan support for the above referenced legislation, but agreeing on offsets to pay for the continued funding for these programs will be contentious and may stall their reauthorization.

 

Finally, Health Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R- Ky.) has made it clear that though he supports funding for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program, he does not support permanent funding for the program. Rather, Guthrie wants the program to continue to be reauthorized every few years. Therefore, U.S. Rep. Pallone’s (D-N.J.) bill, H.R. 2569, which wants to make the program permanent, will likely not move forward.

Bills That Would Impact Washington State Oral Health Professionals Signed by or Sent to Governor

 

As Washington state wraps up its 2023 legislative session, a handful of bills that would impact oral health professionals in the state have recently been signed by or sent to Gov. Jay Inslee (D):

  • would allow dental therapists to practice statewide, rather than tribal lands only where the state currently allows the practice. The bill establishes requirements for licensure, scope of practice and elements that must be included in a collaborative practice agreement with a licensed dentist. Unlike many states that have passed dental therapy legislation, this bill would not limit dental therapists to practicing in public health settings or require them to treat a certain percentage of patients who are uninsured or enrolled in Medicaid. The bill was sent to the Governor on April 19.
  • allows the Washington State Dental Quality Assurance Commission to issue a license or a limited license to qualified individuals upon the written request of a dean of any school of dentistry in the state. Current law allows the Commission to grant these licenses only upon the request of the dean of the University of Washington School of Dentistry. According to a from the bill’s sponsor State Sen. Judy Warnick (R), this bill will help the state’s newest dental school, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, recruit out-of-state faculty. This bill was signed by the Governor on April 14.
  • eliminates the requirement for a dental hygienist to be currently engaged in “active practice” in another state or Canadian province, as an eligibility requirement for an initial limited license without the examination. According to a of the bill that was created by legislative staff, the bill will help address workforce shortages in the state by removing one of the barriers to licensure for out-of-state applicants. This bill was signed by Gov. Inslee on April 13.
  • would extend the time period a dental hygienist who holds a license issue by another jurisdiction can practice under a temporary license from 18 months to five years. According to , the legislation will allow dental hygienists who move to the state to start practicing while completing requirements for full licensure, and will allow more time for dental hygienists to receive full licensure. The bill was sent to the Governor on April 18.
Iowa Legislature and Tennessee General Assembly Pass Dentist and Dental Hygiene Compact Bills

 

Last week, discussed the Washington State Legislature passing legislation that would allow the state to join the dentist and dental hygiene compact. Two more states have joined their ranks as the State Legislature and the General Assembly have both passed bills that would allow their respective states to join the compact, if signed into law.

Licensure compacts have become a popular method for increasing licensure portability among licensed professionals. To date, have adopted at least one licensure compact, and licensure compacts are already in place for at least 15 other professions.

 

When states join, licensees in compact member states are granted the opportunity to apply for a “compact privilege” that will allow them to practice in another member state. Under the of the model compact that was written by The Council for State Governments, license holders will be granted the opportunity to apply for compact privilege if they:

  • Hold a license as a dentist or dental hygienist;
  • Graduate from a Commission on Dental Accreditation-accredited program;
  • Successfully complete a clinical assessment for licensure, with “clinical assessment” currently defined as an examination or process required for licensure as a dentist or dental hygienist, as applicable, that provides evidence of clinical competence in dentistry or dental hygiene;
  • Have passed a National Board Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations or another examination accepted by rule as a requirement for licensure;
  • Meet any jurisprudence requirements;
  • Complete a criminal background check;
  • Submit an application and pay applicable fees; and
  • Comply with requirements to submit specified information for administrative purposes.

Compacts are overseen by commissions that consist of representation from each compact state. Commissions are granted the authority to grant “compact privilege” and create commission rules to which member states agree to comply. The compact will be enacted, and a commission will be created to oversee the dentist and dental hygiene licensure compact after seven states have joined the compact. To date, legislation that would allow states to join the compact has been .

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 for Ryan White Part F Dental Reimbursement Program
  • Applications for HRSA Dental Public Health Research Fellowship
  • 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.

 

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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

 

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