Health Reform Bill unveiled in Senate yesterday contains key provisions to provide unprecedented oral health resources for all Americans

Children’s Dental Health Project

Meg Booth, 202-441-0299

Logo: http://www.cdhp.org

The Children’s Dental Health Project (CDHP) today applauded the U.S. Senate for recognizing the importance of oral health with the introduction of its health reform bill. Unveiled last night, the Senate’s bill includes a historic commitment to strengthen oral health among the nation’s vulnerable populations, and is a major step toward matching public resources to counter the “silent epidemic” of poor oral health among America’s children that was the subject of a warning from the U.S. Surgeon General more than a decade ago.

“The Senate has taken a historic step toward safeguarding the oral health of millions of Americans,” said CDHP chair and founder Dr. Burt Edelstein. “From prevention and treatment to more effective use of data and workforce development, the Senate’s health care reform bill is a strong commitment to children and other populations who are most vulnerable to dental disease. In particular, Senator Jeff Bingaman, in addition to Senators Snowe, Rockefeller, Dodd, and Reid have been champions for provisions in this bill that have the potential to improve dental health for children and families across the nation.”

The Senate bill includes the following oral health care measures:

– Expanded coverage. Insurance coverage for pediatric oral health services and eligibility for preventive oral health services without co-payments.

– Prevention. Dental disease prevention initiatives including public education, school-based sealant programs in all 50 states, and research grants for dental caries management.

– Tracking and monitoring. Resources for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other organizations that track of oral health and the use of dental services among pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.

– Workforce development. Expanded training programs and education resources for general, pediatric and public health dentists and those who train and educate future dental caregivers in rural areas and among underserved populations; and demonstration grants for alternative dental health providers.

– Safety net improvements. Initiatives to provide more access to care including federally-funded school-based health centers and creation of a commission to study oral healthcare workforce capacity.

– Infrastructure improvements. Public health infrastructure improvements in the states to bolster public oral health programs, including CDC authorization to establish oral health leadership and program guidance, oral health data collection and interpretation, a multi-dimensional delivery system for oral health, and science-based programs to improve oral health.

The House’s health care reform bill passed earlier this month contains many of the same measures, which Edelstein said points to a bicameral commitment to improving oral health.

“As the bill moves toward passage in the Senate and a conference with the U.S. House, it is vital to preserve these provisions,” said Edelstein. “We are confident that members of the House and Senate will remain steadfast in their commitment to oral health and will work together to ensure that the oral health measures contained in this legislation remain strong.”

About the Children’s Dental Health Project:

The Children’s Dental Health Project advances policies that improve children’s access to oral health through research-driven policies and innovative solutions by engaging a broad base of partners committed to children and oral health. For additional information please visit, www.cdhp.org.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 4:50 pm and is filed under dental care, dental insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.