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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 10, August 1, 2023

ADEA Advocate Summer Hiatus
 
The ADEA Advocate is going on a summer break. The next issue will publish on Tuesday, Sept. 12. This coincides with the Congress’ August recess and the period when Congress and their staff takes vacation.
 
Any breaking news will be available on the ADEA Advocacy website or on ADEA Connect. See you in September!

Senate Advances Appropriations Important to Oral Health Education
 
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee concluded its consideration of all 12 appropriations bills last week by reporting the final three bills, including the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill. This bill contains most of the programs important to the oral health education community and, based on the current information available, the Senate version is much better for those programs than the version making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee.
 
The Senate Committee holds most oral health and health workforce programs flat at the fiscal year (FY) 2023 levels. This is in light of the required government-wide reduction of $43 billion in non-defense discretionary spending for next fiscal year in the agreement between the White House and Congress to extend the federal debt limit and set spending caps for FY 2024 and 2025.
 
The Senate LHHS bill includes $42.7 million for Oral Health Training Programs, including a set aside of $13 million each for General Dentistry Residencies and Pediatric Dentistry Residencies and another round of grants totaling $2 million for the Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program. The Senate included $47 million for the Area Health Education Programs and $16 million for the Health Careers Opportunity Program. The House zeroed out both of those programs.

House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Hearing on Accountability in Postsecondary Education
 
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee held a hearing titled “Lowering Costs and Increasing Value for Students, Institutions, and Taxpayers”. The hearing examined various ways universities and colleges—both nonprofits and profits—can be held more accountable for not only their cost of attendance, but also for the value or “return on investment” that they provide their students.
 
During the hearing, most of the discussion centered on the pros and cons of market-based approaches to accountability. Members suggested everything from implementing policies requiring that colleges share in the risk when student borrowers don’t repay what they take out in loans to further increasing transparency around costs, graduation rates and gainful employment rates.
 
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) asserted that the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) staff would be a cost-saver. DEI staff were deemed to be diverting financial resources away from other operational costs, such as hiring additional faculty and providing for the general upkeep of universities. As a result, there was a concern that the hiring of DEI staff helps contribute to increased tuition costs.
 
The second suggestion came from U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) who suggested that Grad PLUS loans should be eliminated. Not only would the elimination of the program save the federal government money, but also would remove the incentive for universities to increase tuition because students borrowing would be limited. Houchin did, however, leave open the possibility of exempting certain professions or degrees, such as medical doctors, from the borrowing cap and allowing them to borrow more money. The exempted professions would be those that require a longer time to complete their degrees and training, but more importantly, they would also be more likely to repay their student loans. Thus, the exemptions were a good return on the American taxpayer’s investment.
 
While the Democrats agreed that tuition costs were problematic and must be addressed, they disagreed with many of the Republicans’ saving suggestions. Rather, they focused on the lack of state higher education funding and accused states of not doing their fair share to support higher education.

NC Governor’s Administration Announces Medicaid Expansion Will Begin Oct. 1
 
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced plans [ [link removed] ] for implementing the state’s Medicaid Expansion plan on Oct. 1 despite the program not yet receiving funding from the state’s General Assembly. The announcement was published under a compromise with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that allows NCDHHS to move forward with required public notices for beneficiaries, counties and providers while still awaiting appropriation. The announcement also stated that funds will need to be appropriated to NCDHHS by Sept. 1, 2023, and the earliest fallback date is Dec. 1, 2023. If funding is not provided until a much later date, implementation will be delayed until 2024.
 
Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed legislation to authorize expansion of the state’s Medicaid program to provide coverage to people who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level, but implementation of the program was dependent upon funding provided through this year’s state budget. Although both the House of Representatives and Senate version of the state budget legislation include funding for Medicaid expansion, the two chambers are still in disagreement over tax cuts and raises for public employees [ [link removed] ] . The General Assembly is currently in recess and will not return until Aug. 7.
 
To date, 40 states [ [link removed] ] and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid.

Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact Introduced in Pennsylvania
 
On July 25, legislation that would allow Pennsylvania to join the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact was introduced [ [link removed] ] in the state’s House of Representatives.
 
Once enacted by seven states, the compact will create a pathway to licensure portability for dentists and dental hygienists who are licensed in member states. Licensees who live in states that are compact members can apply for a “compact privilege” that will allow them to practice in another member state. Under the model compact [ [link removed] ] that was written by The Council for State Governments, license holders will be granted the opportunity to apply for compact privilege if they do the following:
 • 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.

Iowa [ [link removed] ] became the first state to join the compact on April 27. Washington [ [link removed] ] state and Tennessee [ [link removed] ] became the second and third states, respectively. To date, the bill has been introduced in eight states [ [link removed] ] .

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
 • 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] ]

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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
 
Zachary Fessler
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
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