In Massachusetts, an agreement reached between the Massachusetts Dental Society, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and state House and Senate leadership has resulted in the introduction of legislation which would establish dental therapists in the state.

Under the legislation, dental therapists would be required to obtain a Master’s level of training, have at least 50% of their patients be Medicaid eligible or be considered underserved, and would only be able to perform surgical procedures under the direct supervision of a dentist.

The bill still has to be passed by both legislative chambers, and signed by the Governor. Tuesday, July 31 is the last day of formal sessions for the Massachusetts Legislature.

In Wisconsin, AB 627 was signed into law on April 17. The law is related to the Medicaid dental reimbursement pilot project, which has been in place since 2015, and which provides participating dentists in four counties with enhanced reimbursement rates for pediatric and adult emergency dental services. The program was created in response to Wisconsin’s historically low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

The new law enables additional counties to participate in the program should excess funds become available.

If you would like more information on legislative matters in your state, or are interested in carrying out advocacy on AGD issues, please contact us at advocacy@agd.org or visit the AGD’s Advocacy webpage.