The U.S. Senate returned to Washington, D.C. this week to engage in a heated debate over the health reform package that Senate Majority Leader Reid released just before the Thanksgiving Holiday.  After a three-day impasse, Senators took the first votes yesterday on a handful of the 72 amendments that have been filed to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  Senator Reid says he intends to pass the bill by the year's end, even if it means that the Senate will have to remain in session every weekend in December and during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. 
 
While the health reform debate on the Senate Floor took center stage, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee met yesterday to consider the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.  A version of this legislation was tacked onto the House health reform package and lawmakers plan to similarly include it in the Senate health reform package as well.  A provision in the bill prohibits the dental health aide therapist model that was developed in Alaska's Indian Country from being replicated elsewhere in the country.  The provision slipped the attention of many Members of the House but has garnered more attention in the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which held a hearing to discuss the issue and entertained an amendment offered by Senator Al Franken of Minnesota to remove the provision.  Senator Franken was forced to withdraw his amendment due to insufficient support from the Committee; however, he received a commitment from Chairman Dorgan to reconsider the matter before moving the legislation to the Senate Floor.  Footage of the hearing can be viewed on the Committee's web site.

As the Senate considers its health reform bill, CDHP has developed a "toolbox" to help advocates and policymakers analyze the oral health provisions in the Senate's health reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The toolbox includes talking points for oral health advocates, a summary of the oral health provisions in the bill, and a full listing of oral health provisions in the bill, including legislative language.  To view the toolbox, visit CDHP's web site.
 
The Senate toolbox is designed to be used in conjunction with a similar resource that CDHP created for the House health reform bill, which is also available on our web site.

Contact your Senators and Representatives today to schedule a meeting to talk about the importance of oral health.  Specifically, we recommend that you make the following key points:

• Preserve pediatric oral health care.  Both the House and Senate bills guarantee oral health care for children covered under the Health Benefits Exchange.  Given the importance of oral health to overall health, this is an essential element of the children's benefits package and must be included in any bill sent to the President.
  

• Defer to the House bill on oral health expertise.  The House bill requires that the Health Benefits Advisory Committee charged with overseeing the Health Benefits Exchange must include experts in oral health.  The Senate is silent on this issue.  Because oral health and overall health have not been traditionally integrated, experts in oral health will be necessary to help ensure appropriate decisions are made with respect to coverage, benefit design, system delivery and quality.

• Maintain oral health workforce provisions in the Senate bill.  The Senate bill includes significant provisions to expand training programs for dentists and fund demonstration grants for midlevel providers. Access to care is dependent on a sufficient investment in the oral health workforce and these Senate provisions must be maintained. 

• Maintain oral health prevention provisions in the Senate bill.  Senate provisions regarding oral health care prevention activities must be prevail, including a public education campaign; demonstration grants for dental caries management; school-based dental sealant programs in all 50 states; allowing school-based health centers to use funds for dental programs; and authorizing CDC grants to improve oral health.

To contact your elected officials, call the U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121 or go to the web sites of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.