110 HR 2371 IH: Deamonte’s Law U.S. House of Representatives 2007-05-17 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.
I 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2371 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 17, 2007 Mr. Cummings (for himself, Mr. Waxman, and Mr. Kucinich) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to expand and improve the provision of pediatric dental services to medically underserved populations, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as Deamonte’s Law .
2.
Findings
The Congress finds as follows: (1)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that tooth decay in baby teeth has increased 15 percent among United States toddlers and preschoolers 2 to 5 years old, between 1988 to 1994 and 1994 to 2004. (2)During the period of 1999 to 2004, 28 percent of young children had experienced cavities. (3)Tooth decay is the single most common childhood chronic disease, and it disproportionately affects poor and minority children. (4)Eighty percent of dental decay occurs in just 25 percent of children. (5)Parents are 3 times more likely to report that their children’s dental needs are unmet, when compared with general medical care needs. (6)While 9,000,000 of the children in this Nation do not have medical insurance, more than twice that number—20,000,000—do not have dental insurance. (7)The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that more than 31,000,000 people live in dental health provider shortage areas, and 4,650 additional dentists would be needed to meet the need that exists in those areas. (8)Health centers serve as the health care home for 16,000,000 individuals, including 5,200,000 children, aged 18 and under. (9)A significant number of health centers provide dental services, but in many instances those services are inadequate to meet the needs of low-income children in the communities they serve.
3.
Access to Dental Care Pilot Program
Subpart I of part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
330M.
Access to Dental Care Pilot Program
(a)
Grants
The Secretary shall award grants to Federally qualified health centers to expand and improve the provision of pediatric dental services to medically underserved populations. (b)
Use of funds
The Secretary may not make a grant to a Federally qualified health center under this section unless the center agrees to use the grant to expand and improve the provision of pediatric dental services to medically underserved populations by— (1)recruiting dentists, pediatric dentists, or dentists with pediatric training to provide pediatric dental services to populations served by the center; (2)purchasing or renting equipment for the provision of dental services; (3)constructing and expanding physical space for the provision of dental services; or (4)allowing contractual relationships between Federally qualified health centers and private dental providers to increase access to dental care for adults and children. (c)
Reports to Congress
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the activities funded through grants under this section and submit a report to the Congress on the results of such evaluation. (d)
Definitions
In this section: (1)The term Federally qualified health center has the meaning given to such term in section 1861(aa)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(4)). (2)The term pediatric dentist means an individual who has successfully completed residency training from a pediatric dentistry program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. (e)
Authorization of appropriations
To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013.
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4.
Dentistry Workforce Pilot Program
Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 747 the following:
747A.
Dentistry Workforce Pilot Program
(a)
Grants
The Secretary shall make grants to schools of dentistry and hospitals with accredited training programs in pediatric dentistry to increase the number of individuals who pursue academic programs in pediatric dentistry. (b)
Use of funds
The Secretary may not make a grant to a school of dentistry or a hospital under this section unless the school or hospital agrees to use the grant to increase the number of individuals who pursue academic programs in pediatric dentistry by— (1)establishing, maintaining, or improving both pre- and post-doctoral academic programs in pediatric dentistry; (2)recruiting and training dental students to pursue training in pediatric dentistry; (3)strengthening training in pediatric dentistry within advanced education in general dentistry and general practice dentistry residencies in dentistry programs; or (4)recruiting and training practicing dentists through continuing education programs in pediatric dentistry. (c)
Reports to Congress
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the activities funded through grants under this section and submit a report to the Congress on the results of such evaluation. (d)
Authorization of appropriations
To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013.
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