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American Dental Education Association
Volume 3, No. 12, September 19, 2023
ADEA Leadership Institute Fellows Visit Capitol Hill
On Sept. 13, over 30 ADEA Leadership Institute [ [link removed] ] Fellows went to Capitol Hill to advocate for funding for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Oral Health Training Programs. The meetings with members of Congress and members of their staff capped off four days of advocacy training where fellows learned lessons about leadership and advocacy from distinguished speakers like Leo Rouse, D.D.S., L.H.D. (Hon), FACD, Professor and Dean Emeritus of Howard University College of Dentistry; Atul Grover, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director of the Association of American Medical Colleges; Jonathan Daniels, Deputy Executive Director of the Coalition for Health Funding; and members of the ADEA staff.
Fellows were also provided an opportunity to interact with and learn more about NIDCR and its important research from Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, D.D.S., Ph.D., NIDCR Deputy Director. Jennifer Holtzman, D.D.S, of the Dental Officer Bureau of Health Workforce also spoke to the fellows about the ways in which HRSA’s Oral Health Training Programs are improving access to oral health across the United States.
The ADEA Leadership Institute is a year-long program designed to develop the most promising individuals at academic dental institutions to become future leaders in dental and higher education.
Congress Considers Appropriations Bills As Government Shutdown Looms
Both Houses of Congress were in session last week with differing results on trying to move an agenda forward. The U.S. Senate has voted 85-12 to move forward with a measure that will encompass three appropriations bills: Military Construction-Veterans Affairs; Agriculture-Food & Drug Administration; and Transportation-Housing & Urban Development. The bill also contains President Biden’s requested supplemental funding for Ukraine and recover funds for natural disasters, such as the Maui wildfire and Hurricane Hilary that struck the West coast late last month. The Senate is expected to pass the measure with all three bills and the supplemental this week.
Following completion of that bill, the Senate intends to take up legislation that would allow the federal government to remain open after the beginning of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1—just nine business days from now. However, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) objected to a procedural request to expedite consideration of the bill and the Senate is faced with taking much more time to complete the bill than planned.
Moving over to the U.S. House of Representatives, House Republican leadership intended to bring the House Defense Authorization bill to the floor last week, but caucus members could not agree on a way forward. Discussions continued and House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, Ph.D., (R-OK) described the situation best, “Nobody’s objecting to what’s in the bill. Everybody’s trying to leverage the bill for something now.”
For now, the House plans to take up the Defense Appropriations bill this week and go from there.
This is not the first, and probably not the last time, the House majority will have trouble agreeing on a way forward. In the meantime, there is growing concern about a government shutdown. The effect that will have on oral health education includes a likely pause in expected grant payments. For instance, if your institution or program is due a check from a grant that has already been awarded, it will likely be delayed—not because the government does not have the funds, but because it does not have the authority to issue the check in the absence of a budget document, and probably neither the staff to process it. In a shutdown, only essential personnel are permitted to work, which means that only those functions that protect the infrastructure and assets of the government are allowed to do their job.
Changes to Initial Dental Hygienist Licensure Requirements May Be Coming in California
The California State Legislature will send a bill [ [link removed] ] to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that if signed, will make graduates of the state’s dental hygiene programs eligible for licensure upon graduation. Under the bill, anyone who has graduated from a California-accredited program that has also been approved by the Dental Hygiene Board of California (DHBC), within the last three years, will be eligible to apply for a license as a registered dental hygienist (RDH). The bill also:
• Adds certification in basic life support to the requirements for RDH licensure,
• Increases the amount of mandatory continuing education the dental hygiene board may require from 7.5 hours to 10 hours and
• Specifies that each appointing authority has the power to remove any member of DHBC appointed by the appointing authority.
Applicants who do not graduate from a program described above may still qualify for licensure by satisfactorily completing the Western Regional Examining Board dental hygiene exam or any other clinical or dental hygiene examination approved by DHBC.
Canadian Government Awards Funds to Sun Life of Canada to Begin Work on National Dental Plan
On Sept. 6, the Canadian government announced it had awarded an Early Work Agreement worth up to $15 million to Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Sun Life). According to the announcement, the funds will allow Sun Life to begin pre-contractual work necessary to implement the Canadian Dental Care Plan while the full contract for the plan is being finalized.
Unveiled in March, the Canadian budget [ [link removed] ] included a $13 billion expansion of the program [ [link removed] ] that, later this year, will open eligibility to people under the age of 18, seniors and people with disabilities who currently lack dental insurance and meet income requirements. By 2025, the program will expand eligibility to anyone who makes less than $90,000 CAD.
Last year, the Canadian government launched a temporary program [ [link removed] ] that provided direct payments to families with children under the age of 12, who lacked insurance and made less than $90,000 CAD annually. By June 2024, that program will be replaced with a government-administered insurance program.
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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