"Far too many Americans today do not have access to dental care, including adults and children in rural areas of Maine that are currently facing a serious shortage of dentists. This should not be happening in a country where we have the medical expertise to treat and prevent dental health problems," Senator Collins said. "By allocating funds to this critical grant program, Maine and other states will have the ability to make oral health care services more accessible to patients in rural and underserved communities."
"I continue to hear about the negative impact that the lack of dental care is having on the health of families in Wisconsin, particularly in Milwaukee and our rural communities," Feingold said. "That is why this legislation is essential in getting badly needed resources to the states so they can help residents in rural and underserved areas gain access to good dental care."
The text of the letter is as follows:
Dear Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Harkin:
The Health Care Safety Net Amendments of 2002 included the Collins-Feingold Dental Health Improvement Act, which is intended to improve access to oral health care by strengthening the dental workforce in our nation's rural and underserved communities. The legislation authorizes $50 million through FY 2006 for grants to States to help them develop innovative dental workforce development programs specific to their individual needs, and we are writing to request that you include at least $10 million for this program in the FY 2006 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill.
While oral health in America has improved dramatically over the last 50 years, these improvements have not occurred evenly across all sectors of our population, particularly among low-income individuals and families. Too many Americans today lack access to dental care. While there are clinically proven techniques to prevent or delay the progression of dental health problems, an estimated 25 million Americans live in areas lacking adequate dental services. As a consequence, these effective treatment and prevention programs are not being implemented in many of our communities. Astoundingly, as many as eleven percent of our nation's rural population has never been to the dentist.
This situation is exacerbated by the fact that our dental workforce is graying. More than 20 percent of dentists nationwide will retire in the next ten years and the number of dental graduates by 2015 may not be enough to replace these retirees. As a consequence, many states are facing a serious shortage of dentists, particularly in rural areas.
The Dental Health Improvement Act authorized a new State grant program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services that is designed to improve access to oral health services in rural and underserved areas. States could use these grants to fund a wide variety of programs. For example, they could use the funds for loan forgiveness and repayment programs for dentists practicing in underserved areas. They could also use the grant funds to establish or expand community or school-based dental facilities or to set up mobile or portable dental clinics. To assist in their recruitment and retention efforts, States could use the funds for placement and support of dental students, residents, and advanced dentistry trainees. Or, they could use the grant funds for continuing dental education, through distance-based education, and practice support through teledentistry.
The FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriation bill included approximately $10 million worth of earmarks for dental projects in nine states that could have been eligible for funding through this grant program had it been funded. There clearly is a need to make oral health care services more accessible in our nation's rural and underserved communities, and we therefore urge you to provide at least $10 million for this critically important grant program in the FY 2006 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill.
Thank you for your consideration of our request, and we look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
###