AGD Capitol Connections

On January 17, 2024, the Chair of the House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Full Committee and the Chair of the E&C Health Subcommittee, Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2) respectively, sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a study on the vertical integration and consolidation of the dental and vision benefits industries.

On January 17, 2024, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced S.3597, the Promoting Dental Health Act.

On January 2, 2024, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) posted new Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) designations and withdrawals and shared information on the process to submit comments on these decisions.

On January 8, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that Stacy Sanders will serve as the Department’s inaugural Chief Competition Officer, a newly created role aimed at reducing healthcare and prescription drug costs by promoting competition.

On January 18, 2024, President Biden signed into law another Continuing Resolution (CR) necessary to keep the government open, H.R.2872, Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024.

The AGD Advocacy Fund supports national and constituent advocacy efforts by providing resources to tackle new matters, such as legislation or legal action affecting the practice of general dentistry.

On December 11, 2023, the House of Representatives passed the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, H.R. 5378.

This week, the House and Senate both took major steps towards reauthorizing the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, which was originally enacted in 2018 to comprehensively address to the opioid epidemic.

The AGD Advocacy Fund supports national and constituent advocacy efforts by providing resources to tackle new matters, such as legislation or legal action affecting the practice of general dentistry.

On November 29, 2023, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Understanding How AI is Changing Health Care. Witnesses included representatives from hospitals, health care companies, and medical schools.

On November 28, 2023, Senator Dick Durbin sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) urging the Administrator to notify states about the recent Medicare changes to oral health care services that were included in the 2024 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System final rule.

The AGD will be holding a free virtual Advocacy Conference with two-half days on December 15 – 16, 2023. Earn 7.5 hours of CE and gain insight into the current legislative and regulatory landscape and how it may affect your practice. Hear from AGD members on today’s important issues and learn how you can make a difference at the state and federal levels.

The AGD Advocacy Fund supports national and constituent advocacy efforts by providing resources to tackle new matters, such as legislation or legal action affecting the practice of general dentistry.

On November 16, 2023, President Biden signed a “laddered” continuing resolution (CR) into law, entitled the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024 to avert a government shutdown as federal funding was set to expire on November 17, 2023.

On October 30, 2023, President Joe Biden signed an executive order (EO) entitled, Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.

On October 25, 2023, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee voted to advance the nomination of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli for Director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by a vote of 15 to 6.

On October 25, 2023, Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) was elected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. All 220 Republicans voted in favor of his Speakership and 209 Democrats voted against him. The successful vote follows three weeks of turmoil.

On October 11, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the formation of the Digital Health Advisory Committee to aid the agency in regulating the development and use of digital health technologies (DHTs), including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

On October 16, 2023, the AGD sent a letter to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) urging the agency to evaluate and revise the existing dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) designation programs.

On October 3, 2023, the House of Representatives voted to vacate the seat of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in a historic 216-210 vote. This marks the first time in history that a House speaker has been removed in this manner.