CalHyPAC Newsletter November 2015

In This Issue

What is CalHyPAC?

What's Happening in California

Bills we are watching

What's Happening Nationally

CDHA's Legislative Advocacy Firm

Advocacy

How you can help

WHAT IS CalHyPAC?

CalHyPAC is the Political Action Committee created by the California Dental Hygienists' Association.

CalHyPAC is a voluntary, non-profit, political advocacy committee.

CalHyPAC is an essential part of CDHA's

government
relations program

CalHyPAC supports legislators who open to the issues that affect our scope of practice.

Quick Links...

CA Legislature information

CA Assembly Senate bills

CDHA

ADHA

DHCC

CalHyPAC

Committee

Heidi Coggan

Debbie Phillips

Blanco Pareto

Frannie Driscoll

Mary Delehanty

Ellen Standley

Carole Ryan

Dear Colleague,

CalHyPAC, the Political Action Committee of the California Dental Hygienists' Association sends this newsletter to continue to provide you with the latest information about legislation, regulations and policies affecting California dental hygienists and let you know how you can help. Please forward this newsletter to your friends who can also advocate on behalf of the patients who will no longer receive the services of the RDHAP due to the new requirements adopted by the Department of Health Care Services.

Please join us in our efforts to continue to have a strong voice in Sacramento.

To find out more about CalHyPAC, please visit the CalHyPAC website: www.calhypac.org

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CALIFORNIA

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will require RDHAPs to take full mouth xrays of patients requiring RPs starting in 2016 -This will be a disaster for the Denti-Cal patients and for the RDHAP's practice

What you can do:

� Contact your legislators and the Governor and tell them to STOP the Department from implementing this senseless dental hygiene policy. It is a policy that will only harm special needs patients and drive more providers from the Denti-Cal program.

Use this link to the Governor's website to call or

email him
https://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php
click the Need Help box and Want a Reply. When you continue to the next page send your note to the Governor. Tell him to stop this bad policy. If you are an RDHAP, tell him how long you have been providing this care, how many patients you serve and how many patients will be without care if this policy goes through. If you are an RDH with loved ones who will be affected, tell them your story.

Use this link to find your legislators and send them the same note http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

� Request your patients and their other caregivers to contact the Governor and their legislators by email or phone using the links above.
� Continue to read our emails and follow us on facebook to stay educated on this critical issue

CDHA is your organization and your efforts are critical to its success!

As you know, over the last twenty years independent hygienists, Registered Dental Hygienists in Alternative Practice (RDHAPs), have improved the health and quality of life for many of our loved ones who cannot access a traditonal dental office.

Yet despite this success, the bureaucrats at the

Department of Health Care Services are creating a new policy for the Denti-Cal program that will stop these patients from receiving care. The department will require the patient to first get full mouth x-rays and the independent hygienist to first get approval from the DHCS before each deep cleaning procedure. The department claims that because x-rays and prior approval are required in the traditional dental office setting it should also be required for these patients. These patients can't undergo x-rays due to their frail health, cognitive or physical disabilities.

The bureaucrats are committed to the belief that all care must be provided the same way regardless of the needs of the patient.

Where we are:

After CDHA spent months of negotiation offering alternatives to the Department and successfully delaying this bad policy, the Department confirmed they will take none of the alternatives CDHA offered that would enable patients to continue to receive care and keep RDHAP providers participating in Denti-Cal. The Department is dead set on requiring prior authorization with x-rays despite the harm it will cause patients and providers alike.
The Department has not provided a specific date for implementation, but all indications are that implementation could be by the new year. CDHA is determined to stop this horrible policy and will continue to fight to save the RDHAP practice.

Next Steps: CDHA is:

1) coordinating outreach to press and social media to build a ground swell of public outrage regarding this policy

2) coordinating outreach to key members of the legislature with decision making power to help us stop this policy

3) coordinating those in the legislature and providing them with needed data to help us fight this

4) providing information to the Little Hoover Commission to educate them on this policy and how it will impact patients so the information will be included in the Commission's Denti-Cal report

****************************

California Legislation Signed

into Law this year

CDHA sponsored AB 502
Allows RDHAP to incorporate effective January 2016. RDH, RDHEF, licensed dentists and RDAs may be minority co-owners and/or employees of an RDHAP corporation.

To read about the details of this bill and others that have become law this year and those bills that CDHA is currently watching
Click here:

Bills are amended often so to find out what is happening to specific bills in the Senate and Assembly, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov and type in the bill number.
************************************************************

Employment Law Inquiry

Last week, CDHA notified the CA Department of Industrial Relations about dentists asking their hygienists to sign a contract that says they have to clock out if a patient does not show or is not scheduled during their eight hour day.
CDHA wants a determination of the current labor laws re: if this is an inappropriate or illegal maneuver by dentists to reduce the pay of hygienists for time that the front office is unable to fill the hygiene schedule, a hygiene patient cancels or a patient simply does not show up for a scheduled appointment.
CDHA will keep you informed as soon as we get their response.
***************************************************

WHAT'S HAPPENING NATIONALLY

Just recently in Illinois, a bill was passed that allows dental assistants to become scaling assistants. To become law, the Illinois governor needs to sign it.
To see new laws affecting the scope of practice of dental hygienists in other states click here

ADHA is involved in advocacy efforts for a variety of policy issues, including the establishment of dental hygiene-based workforce models and advanced practice dental hygiene, funding for oral health research and programs, the inclusion of oral health services in public clinics and maternal and child health programs.

For more information, go to
ww.adha.org/advocacy

CalHyPAC News

The "Pass the Hat for CalHyPAC" campaign for components is underway. We are asking component leaders to educate members/non members about CalHyPAC and current legislation at their CE classes. Last year seven components raised over $1,300. Thanks to all of you who donate to CalHyPAC and support CDHA's legislative goals.

left to right, Aaron Read (lobbyist) Frannie Driscoll, Jennifer Tannihill (lobbyist), Ellen Standley, Heidi Coggan, Debbie Phillips, Carole Ryan, and Terry McHale (lobbyist) at the CalHyPAC November meeting in Sacramento.

Aaron Read and Associates

The California Dental Hygienists' Association has retained the legislative advocacy firm of Aaron Read and Associates
since 1984 to

Terry McHale, legislative advocate for CDHA

help us work

with legislative leaders, state agencies, the Dental Hygiene Committee of California ( DHCC ) and other associations.

Together we promote state policies encouraging increased availability of oral health care, to improve laws and regulations that protect the public's oral health and enhance the practice of dental hygiene. CDHA's executive officers, the Government Relations Council (GRC) and the

CalHyPAC commttee work closely with legislative

advocates Aaron Read, Terry McHale and Jennifer Tannehill.

************************************************** ADVOCACY

Advocacy is an important component in any organization and for its members to make legislators aware of their positions on policy issues. As a licensed profession governed

by state practice acts and rules, dental hygiene is directly impacted by many policy issues that shape day-to-day dental hygiene practice and the delivery of oral health care services.

Issues requiring advocacy in California are: scope of practice, access to care, continuing education and reimbursement under Denti-Cal. Your involvement as a dental hygiene professional is critical to the success of any advocacy effort!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Want to help CDHA be successful in having a strong voice in Sacramento about the issues we care about?

You can donate money to CalHyPAC We welcome donations from members, friends, potential members, and non-members.
Meet your legislators. Go to their websites, sign up for their e-newsletters and attend one of their local "coffee chats."
You can write letters to your legislators about legislation affecting dental hygiene.
Join your professional organization. Numbers count when CDHA and our legislative advocacy firm represent dental hygienists in Sacramento.

WANT TO DONATE?

By credit card/PayPal www.calhypac.org

Send checks payable to CalHyPAC

c/o Debbie Phillips, RDH, Treasurer

182 Cameo Drive
Danville, CA 94526

Fair Political Practice Act requires that you include your name, address, occupation and name of employer on your check. Your contributions are not deductible for state or federal income tax purposes.

QUESTIONS?

EMAIL : CALHYPAC@GMAIL.COM