113 HR 3120 IH: Comprehensive Dental Reform Act of 2013 U.S. House of Representatives 2013-09-18 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I113th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 3120IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESSeptember 18, 2013Mr. Cummings (for himself and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, the Judiciary, Natural Resources, Veterans’ Affairs, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concernedA BILLTo improve access to oral health care for vulnerable and underserved populations.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Comprehensive Dental Reform Act of 2013.

2.

Table of contents

The table of contents of this Act is as follows:Sec. 1. Short title.Sec. 2. Table of contents.Sec. 3. Findings.TITLE I—Medicare and MedicaidSubtitle A—MedicareSec. 101. Coverage of dental services under the Medicare program.Subtitle B—MedicaidSec. 111. Coverage of dental services under the Medicaid program.TITLE II—Public Health programsSubtitle A—National Health Service CorpsSec. 201. National Health Service Corps.Sec. 202. Community based dental residencies.Subtitle B—Oral health educationSec. 211. Authorization of appropriations for oral health education for medical providers.Sec. 212. Oral health education for other non-health professionals.Sec. 213. Dental education.Sec. 214. Oral health professional student loans.Subtitle C—Other oral health programsSec. 221. Access points.Sec. 222. Dental clinics in schools.Sec. 223. Emergency room care coordination.Sec. 224. Research funding.Sec. 225. Mobile and portable dental services.Subtitle D—Oral health services as an essential health benefitSec. 231. Oral health services as an essential health benefit.TITLE III—Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense MattersSubtitle A—Department of Veterans Affairs MattersSec. 301. Requiring the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish dental care in the same manner as any other medical service.Sec. 302. Demonstration program on training and employment of alternative dental health care providers for dental health care services for veterans in rural and other underserved communities.Subtitle B—Department of Defense MattersSec. 311. Demonstration program on training and employment of alternative dental health care providers for dental health care services for members of the Armed Forces and dependents lacking ready access to such services.TITLE IV—Federal Bureau of PrisonsSec. 401. Demonstration program on training and employment of alternative dental health care providers for dental health care services for prisoners within the custody of the Bureau of Prisons.TITLE V—Indian Health ServiceSec. 501. Demonstration program on training and employment of alternative dental health care providers for dental health care services under the Indian Health Service.TITLE VI—Reports to CongressSec. 601. Evaluation of expansion of coverage for dental services.

3.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings:(1)The United States must establish a nationwide and comprehensive approach to address the lack of access to needed dental care and reduce oral health disparities.(2)Since 2000, when the Surgeon General of the United States called dental disease a silent epidemic, there has been increasing but still insufficient attention given to addressing oral health issues. The Healthy People 2020 initiative includes oral health as a leading health indicator for the first time in the history of the Healthy People program, and in 2011, the Institute of Medicine published 2 reports, Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations and Advancing Oral Health in America, that focused on oral health.(3)Dental caries, commonly known as cavities, are the most common chronic disease for children in the United States. Additionally, 25 percent of American adults who have attained 65 years of age have lost all of their teeth.(4)Untreated oral health problems contribute to an increased risk for serious medical conditions such as diabetes, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and poor birth outcomes.(5)According to a report by the Surgeon General of the United States, students miss more than 51,000,000 hours of school and employed adults lose more than 164,000,000 hours of work each year due to dental disease and dental visits.(6)While the lack of access to oral health services is a national problem, those who are most likely to remain underserved are individuals with low incomes, racial and ethnic minorities, pregnant women, older adults, individuals with special needs, and individuals living in rural communities.(7)More than 1 in 4 Americans do not have dental health insurance which is far greater than the number of individuals who lack general health insurance.(8)The Medicare program and the Department of Veterans Affairs do not provide dental coverage to the majority of their beneficiaries, and States can elect whether to provide dental coverage to adults under the Medicaid program.(9)Only 20 percent of practicing dentists in the United States provide care to individuals enrolled in Medicaid, and a very small percentage of dentists devote a substantial part of their practice towards caring for individuals who are underserved.(10)The United States spends more than $100,000,000,000 on dental care and that number is expected to rise to $170,000,000,000 by 2020. Over $30,000,000,000 dollars was spent out-of-pocket for dental services in 2008.(11)The lack of access to oral health services results in higher health care expenditures. In 2009, there were over 830,000 visits to emergency rooms across the United States for preventable dental conditions, which is 16 percent higher than in 2006. The treatment of dental conditions in hospital emergency rooms in 2010 cost as much as $2,100,000,000.