On April 9, the nearly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) announced five key policy recommendations the lawmaker group is advocating to be included in President Biden’s proposed American Jobs Plan.

Broadly, the CPC’s are priorities are (1) Strengthen the Care Economy (2) Bold Investments in Affordable Housing (3) Dramatically Lower Drug Prices; Use Savings to Pay for Public Health Expansion (4) Bold Investments in Climate Jobs and Impacted Communities (5) Roadmap for Citizenship and Inclusion for Immigrant Communities

Priority #3 on the list calls for lowering drug prices and using the savings to pay for public health expansion, similar to what was proposed in the House-passed bill, H.R.3, from Congress’ last session. The CPC’s stated goal is to lower the Medicare eligibility age and expand Medicare benefits to include dental, vision, and hearing.

Additionally, the Progressive Caucus is throwing its weight behind the idea of advancing the President’s plan through a single large legislative package that encompasses a wide array of policies. However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wants to see two separate bills, one for infrastructure and another for economic policy.

The CPC’s priorities will likely face significant hurdles passing in the Senate through the budget reconciliation process. The Senate Parliamentarian will need to decide what policies are eligible for inclusion in a reconciliation package, and the 50-50 seat breakdown means moderate Democratic Senators will need to sign off on the progressive proposals.

Impact on General Dentistry: AGD supports enhanced benefits and reimbursement in private sector initiatives for dental benefits while remaining opposed to Medicare’s expansion to include dental benefits. AGD believes that the Medicare program cannot sustain the inclusion of dental benefits.