As the hot, muggy days of August grind on in our nation's
capital, all eyes are on the health reform debate that is playing out in the
states. Both opponents and proponents of
reform are in full campaign mode, waging a no-holds-barred battle for public
support. In a recent briefing by White
House staff, CDHP learned of the sophisticated grassroots campaign that
President Obama has launched in order to sell his plan to the American people. While the President is not discouraged by the
raucous town hall meetings that are taking place across the country, he is not
taking his supporters for granted either.
No one knows for sure how the debate will play out when lawmakers return
to Washington after Labor
Day. But for the 47 million Americans
who are uninsured-and the countless others who are underinsured-the question
could not be more personal.
Without the passage of meaningful health reform, our efforts
to improve the oral health provisions in the legislation will fall by the
wayside. Still, we remain hopeful that health
reform will be successful. Tremendous
progress has already been made, and the decades-long struggle that led to this
moment has strengthened its position. In
light of this, it is all the more important that we continue to drive home the
message that oral health is a critical component of overall health-and that it
must be included in health reform.
Just as the path to health reform has been a long and drawn
out process, successes in oral health policy are the result of many years of
tireless advocacy. When the state
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was first created in 1997, states
were given the option to offer children dental coverage. Now, more than a decade later, President
Obama signed legislation in February that requires states to cover children's
dental care under the CHIP program.
The legislation also includes a host of other provisions to improve children's access to dental care.
These successes have spilled over into the health reform debate, where both the House and Senate bills that have been introduced include significant provisions to improve oral health. We must build on this momentum by expressing
support for current provisions and pushing for more oral health provisions to
be included as the process continues.
Specifically, while we are thrilled that a mandatory dental benefit for
children is included in both of the draft bills that have currently been
released, the dental benefit for adults remains optional. We know that children whose parents do not
have access to dental care are less likely to get that care themselves. Further, adults with poor oral health
experience costly pain and suffering that can result in lost productivity. As with efforts to improve children's oral
health, we must work to similarly ensure that lawmakers get the message that
improving the oral health of adults is critical.
