ASDA recently distributed two action alerts to members using the Engage Advocacy Alert system:

1. Protect Maine's Dental Patients:
   60 students from New England College of Dental Medicine wrote members of the Maine Legislature urging them to vote against LD 1230: An Act to Improve Access to Oral Health Care. Read more about the status of the bill.
     
2. Limit the Role of Licensed Dental Practitioners:
   146 students from dental schools in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York wrote members of the Vermont Legislature urging them to vote against SB 35: An Act Relating to Establishing and Regulating Licensed Dental Practitioners. Read more about the bill.

On Feb. 26, the Senate began floor debate on the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Pay Restoration Act of 2014 (S.1982), which includes a number of provisions impacting academic dentistry. Title III of Subtitle E (Dental Care Eligibility Expansion and Enhancement) in the bill provides:

• The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may furnish restorative "dental services and treatment, and dental appliances" to veterans.
• Authorizes a three-year pilot program expanding dental care to all enrolled veterans at 16 sites nationwide.
• The Secretary is directed to carry out a dental health educational program informing veterans on options for accessing dental care, including obtaining low or no-cost dental care through dental schools or Federally Qualified Health Clinics (FQHC).
• The proposed legislation authorizes $305 million in FY15, to be available for five years, to carry out these provisions.  

Additionally, Title II of the bill deals with education matters. It requires that, beginning on July 1, 2015, public institutions of higher education must charge veterans in-state tuition and fees regardless of the veteran's state of residence. In addition, it extends and expands the work-study program through June 30, 2015.

 

The ADEA Advocacy and Governmental Relations team will continue to monitor progress on this proposed legislation and its impact on academic dentistry.

 

From the March 2014 ADEA Washington Update  

The non-partisan Government Accountability Office's Jan. 31 report says the government is on track to generate $66 billion in income from loans it made between 2007 and 2012. That number is only an estimate because the real cost or profit of a student loan to the government can fluctuate wildly each year, depending on the amount of money the borrowers repay and the government's own borrowing costs. The report is the latest in a two-year debate over the interest rate the government should set for student loans. Last year, legislation was passed tying the interest rate for student loans to 10-year Treasury notes, which put the rate at 3.9 percent for undergraduate borrowers and 5.4 percent for graduate students, lower than those offered by private lenders.

The total cost of the student loan program to the government is also clouded by the growing administrative costs that have arisen as the Department of Education handles an increasing number of student loans previously handled by banks. According to the GAO study, the department spent $864 million administering Direct Loans in 2012, more than twice as much as the $314 million it spent in 2007.

From the March 2014 ADEA Washington Update 

Dr. Kallie L. Law, Alabama '12, 2011-12 contributing editor

 

Want to apply for a dental license in the great state of Georgia, home of the Braves, Bulldogs and the south's best peaches? Download this PDF for full dentist licensure instruction for the state of Georgia. In short, you need to:

• Submit a complete notarized application with $125 application fee to the Georgia Board of Dentistry with a recent 2x2 photo.
• Verify licenses for every other state dental license you hold.
• Request that an official DMD or DDS degree transcript be sent to the Board directly from your accredited dental school.
• Send NBDE Part I and Part II scores directly from the ADA to the Board. The ADA can be reached at 1-800-621-8099.
• Pass CRDTS (the only clinical licensure examination accepted in Georgia) with a score of 75 or greater in all sections. CRDTS must send a notarized score sheet to the Georgia Dental Board.
• Pass Georgia's open book Jurisprudence Examination with a score or 75 or higher.
• Obtain a self-query from the National Practitioner Data Bank and submit it to the Board.
• Submit a photocopy of a current CPR certification to the Board.
• Submit a copy of a court document or affidavit explaining any discrepancies of the applicant's name if documents submitted bears different name(s) (e.g. marriage certificate, divorce decree, legal name change).

Read more about licensure credentials, renewal, CE and residency in Georgia.

Contact:

Stephanie Follett, governance and leadership coordinator
Stephanie@ASDAnet.org | 312-440-2490