How Will Healthcare Reform Affect Dentistry?
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, MARCH 23, 2010
While the healthcare reform package is concerned primarily with broadening medical coverage for the uninsured and underinsured, dental care is not excluded from the legislation. The final bill includes a number of benefits designed to support dentistry and train providers, though the ADA has criticized reform efforts for not going far enough to expand access to dental care.
The final reform bill includes oral healthcare among the minimum services available to individuals under 21 years of age. The legislation will also provide grants to up to 15 demonstration programs designed to train or employ "alternative dental health providers" (such as dental hygienists or dental therapists) with the aim of increasing opportunities for dental care in underserved communities. Dentists and dental hygienists will also receive funding for education programs as well as financial support to specialize in general, pediatric or public-health dentistry. Finally, the bill includes a grant program to support dental clinics and oral care in health clinics, funds to expand school-based sealant programs, support for the collection and interpretation of dental-health data and similar provisions to broaden "oral health literacy and surveillance."
Notably, there was a last-minute change to the reform package on Saturday that eliminated a 5% tax on cosmetic procedures (which would encompass cosmetic dental procedures.) In its place, Congress levied a 10% tax on tanning salons.
