AGD Capitol Connections

AGD recently sent a letter to the "Four Corners" of Senate and House leadership, which urges Congress to advance a supplemental COVID-19 relief package to address the general dentistry community's key priorities.

One of the first actions anticipated by President-elect Joe Biden's Administration will be implementing mandatory workplace safety rules that employers must follow to protect workers from COVID-19 exposure.

The House Committee on Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance held a hearing on November 19 entitled "Insuring against a Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions for Policyholders and Insurers."

The Senate Appropriations Committee published working drafts of its 12 Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending bills on November 10.

On November 12, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced S.4894, the Dental and Optometric Care (DOC) Access Act, which helps ensure fairness in contracts between doctors and dental insurers and supports a healthy doctor-patient relationship.

House Republicans released a $47 billion Covid-19 relief proposal (H.R.14) on October 30 intended to be a "serious, targeted proposal" to address the pandemic (summary).

On October 22, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the reporting guidance for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payment recipients had been amended to increase flexibility around how providers can apply PRF money toward lost revenues attributable to coronavirus.

AGD is working to address the most pressing issues faced by our members as we advocate to government entities for general dentists.

AGD, along with 28 other allied health organizations, including AAOMS and ADA, sent a letter to the leaders of the House Education & Labor Committee on October 15, voicing support for H.R.1379, the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA).

On October 8, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department released a simpler loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less.

The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that $20 billion in new funding for providers, including eligible dentists, would be available in a Phase 3 General Distribution from the Provider Relief Fund created under the CARES Act.

The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that $20 billion in new funding for providers, including eligible dentists, would be available in a Phase 3 General Distribution from the Provider Relief Fund created under the CARES Act.

In an effort led by the American Dental Association (ADA), a group of dental organizations, including AGD, sent a letter on September 22 to the National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) to support a Transparency in Dental Benefits Contracting model act. NCOIL's Health Insurance & Long Term Care Issues Committee considered the model act at a September 26 meeting.

The House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass H.R.3935, the Protecting Patients Transportation to Care Act, on September 21. Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Tom Graves (R-GA), and Sanford Bishop of (D-GA) introduced the bill in July 2019.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released final reporting requirements for providers who received one or more payments exceeding $10,000 from the Provider Relief Fund. The reporting system will become available Jan. 15, 2021. Additionally, the department noted that recipients may be subject to auditing.

As the 2020-2021 state legislative session approaches, the Wisconsin AGD and Wisconsin Dental Association (WDA) work to open regular communications around advocacy and discuss how the two organizations can partner as stakeholders in the oral health community.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) posted revisions on September 11 to regulations that implemented the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

AGD submitted comments to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on September 18 regarding a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) Scoring Criteria Request for Information (RFI).

On September 16, the Businesses Preparing for a Better Tomorrow Act (H.R. 8260) was introduced by Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) to help employers combat the spread of COVID-19 by providing tax incentives for qualified employee training on best practices to reduce the spread of COVID-19.