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American Dental Education Association

Volume 3, No. 83, May 28, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill

 

In the early morning of May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of reconciliation legislation, , The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act by a vote of 215-214—with one Republican Member voting present and two not voting.

 

Last week’s ADEA Advocate reported on the difficulty of the House Republican Leadership getting the bill to the full chamber, which required an unusual late night Sunday vote to report the bill and an all-night session of the House Committee on Rules that began at 1:00 a.m. on May 21 to allow changes to the bill to make it more palatable to recalcitrant majority party members. At press time, what we know about those changes is limited or anecdotal; we have yet to see the final Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score for the portion that involves Medicaid or updates based on changes that were made to the bill by the Rules Committee. ADEA will update this information in next week’s Advocate, as needed.

To the left is a chart showing how the OBBB cuts (in green) affect the deficit over the next decade. (“IRA” in the chart is a reference to the Inflation Reduction Act, a.k.a. the infrastructure bill enacted in 2022.)

 

We do know that the sum of cuts to the Medicaid program is the largest in its history, totaling $715 billion over the next 10 years. The only way to achieve this level of savings in the Medicaid program is to reduce the number of beneficiaries insured under the program. Many states use provider taxes to help finance its portion of Medicaid costs. OBBB prohibits states from instituting any new provider taxes or increases to current taxes. This will force states to either reduce their Medicaid programs or raise other revenues to maintain the current level of care. It also would require more frequent eligibility checks, repeal of rules that simplify eligibility or renewal of benefits and additional work requirements that will take effect in 2029. Each of these changes will result in fewer individuals receiving coverage through Medicaid.

Another concerning provision involves a change that affects children covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that would repel protections that prevent states from imposing forced periods of uninsurance. At press time, the CBO had not yet made public an analysis of the effects of the Medicaid changes in the final bill; its preliminary estimate before the late changes to the bill was that 13.7 million people would lose insurance coverage over the next 10 years under the provisions that the Committee initially proposed.

 

 

 

 

White House Releases the Make America Healthy Again Report

 

Just prior to the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, the White House released the Make America Healthy Again ( ) Report in response to the directive contained in President Trump’s February Executive Order number 14212, “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, was named Chairman of the Commission, which consists of 13 additional federal officials. The Commission was directed to do the following:

 

  • Study the scope of childhood chronic disease and potential contributing factors,
  • Advise the President on informing the American people on childhood chronic diseases and
  • Make recommendations on policy and strategy related to addressing the contributing causes and ending those diseases.

The report does not mention oral health or dental caries as chronic childhood diseases. The only mention of these comes in footnotes in a section headlined, “Why Children are Uniquely Vulnerable to Environmental Chemicals,” where fluoride is mentioned in a discussion of continued studies on the “cumulative load of multiple exposures and how it may impact children’s health…” A in that discussion takes the reader to a page at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website that lists it as major contributor to the reductions in childhood caries during the 20th century.

 

There will be more to report on this report as we have an opportunity to study it further.

 

ICE Warns International Students of SEVIS Terminations

 

According to a May 16 by Inside Higher Ed, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sent letters to recent international student graduates, warning that their legal status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) may be revoked. Inside Higher Ed confirmed that at least 35 students have received these letters, though the actual number may be higher.

 

The letters primarily target students participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT), a program that allows international graduates to work in the United States on a short-term extension of their student visa, following the completion of their academic programs. Under OPT regulations, students are permitted up to 90 days of unemployment during the 12-month authorization period.

 

According to the letter obtained by Inside Higher Ed, ICE warned students that failure to report employment within 90 days of their OPT start date could result in the termination of their SEVIS records. The letter further states that students have 15 days to correct this by reporting their employment before their SEVIS status is terminated.

 

This notice from ICE comes after months of uncertainty for international students, following the termination of thousands of SEVIS records earlier this year. In April, immigration officials reinstated SEVIS status for more than 5,000 affected students.

 

Federal Judge Blocks Executive Order Dismantling ED; Orders Reinstatement of Fired Employees

 

On May 22, a federal judge blocked the Trump Administration’s aimed at dismantling the Department of Education (ED). The judge also ordered administration officials to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. The from a U.S. District Court Judge Myong Joun was in response to a lawsuit filed by school districts in Massachusetts and the American Federation of Teachers, a teachers union.

 

Joun’s injunction would stop the Trump Administration from carrying out plans announced earlier this year that seek to dismantle ED. Joun sided with the plaintiff’s argument that mass layoffs, resulting in a 50% reduction in labor force, would leave ED unable to perform the duties required by Congress. Joun said that layoffs at that scale would likely “cripple the Department.”

 

A White House spokesperson said that President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have the “legal authority to make decisions regarding the agency’s reorganization, and a leftist judge’s ruling cannot change that reality. We look forward to appealing this misguided decision and achieving ultimate victory.”

 
Nevada Sends Three Bills to Governor That Will Impact Oral Health Professionals

 

The Nevada Legislature has sent three bills to Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) that, if enacted, would have an impact on oral health professionals in the state.

 

would prohibit the Nevada State Board of Dental Examiners from adopting regulations that would require an applicant seeking a dental hygienist license by endorsement to have practiced dental hygiene in another state for a specified period immediately preceding the submission of an application.

 

would require public and private health insurance policies and health plans that include coverage of dental services to cover some dental services provided by a qualified dental hygienist. Specifically, the bill requires coverage of services dental hygienists are authorized to provide while not supervised by a dentist to the same extent as if provided under a dentist’s supervision. The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services also would be required to apply for any necessary waiver to federal law or amendment to the Medicaid State Plan to receive federal funding to carry out the provisions of the bill.

 

addresses several dental insurance issues. The bill establishes a system of procedures for resolving complaints and procedures for the external review of an adverse determination for policies and certificates that provide only dental coverage. It also authorizes a dentist to provide a written certification and request for an expedited external review in an adverse determination. The bill requires an independent review organization to include the dentist in the external review process. Finally, the bill also establishes that a dentist who treated the insured person has the same powers and duties, with respect to the external review process of an adverse determination, as a physician who treated the insured person.

 

Iowa Legislature Sends Bill to Governor That Would Establish Residency Minimums for Dental and Medical Schools

 

The Iowa General Assembly has to Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) that, if enacted, would require the state’s Board of Regents (BOR) to adopt a policy that requires at least 80% of students admitted to the University of Iowa College of Medicine and College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics to be Iowa residents or individuals who were enrolled at an Iowa postsecondary institution prior to application submission.

 

The legislation, which originated in the state’s House of Representatives, was amended on the Senate floor to include a questionnaire that applicants would be required to complete that includes specific questions regarding an applicant’s connections to the state or, in the case of medical school applicants, intent to complete a residency in the state upon graduation. Additionally, the University of Iowa, in collaboration with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, would be required to submit an annual report to the General Assembly regarding the residency of graduates and medical residents in the year following their completion of education or training.

 

The bill was who see the residency requirement as a solution to the state’s dentist and physician shortage. Democrats, however, in a Senate floor debate, claiming the residency requirement would prevent the schools from enrolling the most qualified candidates.

 

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 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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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 Senior Director of State Relations and Advocacy

 

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