Center for Public Policy and Advocacy Jack E. Bresch, Associate Executive Director and ADEA CPPA Director Deborah Darcy, Director of Congressional Affairs Monette D. McKinnon, Director of Legislative Policy Development Myla J. Moss, Director of Congressional Relations and Regulatory Affairs

Dental Health: Nurturing the Health Care System’s Neglected Stepchild Health policy forum for Congressional staff conducted by the Alliance for Health Reform Jack Bresch – Director of Public Policy and Advocacy ADEA

Support in the Senate Comprehensive legislation aimed at increasing access to oral health services for low- income adults and children Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

Moratorium on CMS Regulations  Prohibited Medicaid payment for GME  Limits on Medicaid payments for nursing homes  Fragmented case management for children with disabilities  Prohibited funding for specialized medical transport

Dental Access in Underserved Communities Act (HR 6613)  $300 million annually National Health Services Corp  $33.6 million for centers of excellence  $35.7 million for the health career opportunities program

Higher Education Act  Loan Forgiveness for Service in Areas of National Need  Perkins Loan Increases  Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need  Cost Expenditure Lists for Universities  State Penalties for failure to increase funding “College Access Challenge Grant”

NIH Loses $1.2 billion Increase  Meant to compensate for inflation in the last five years  Attached to a Medicaid bill meant to halt any cut in the program that serves low- income children and families  Did not receive enough votes to make it to the floor

Economic Hardship Deferment Eliminated  College Cost Reduction and Access Act  Effective July 1, 2009 eliminates the 20/220 pathway of the economic hardship deferment  Dental students who enroll in residency training programs at accredited U.S. dental schools continue to be eligible for in-school deferment for the duration of their residency training if the school registers its dental residents as students.

ADEA Board of Directors Issues Policy Statement on Community-Based Dental Education  America’s oral health access problems would be lessened if dental students were not “isolated” inside dental school clinics  Recommend is that dental education be integrated with other health disciplines in rural, frontier, and urban underserved community venues

Dental Student Lobby Day February 11-12, 2009

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW….