On September 1, a group of 11 allied dental organizations, including AGD, ADA, and AAOMS, sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House and Senate, as well as relevant Congressional Committees, urging them to reconsider legislative proposals that would expand Medicare to include a dental benefit. In the letter, the coalition said that current proposals being circulated “would not adequately meet the needs of our dentists and Medicare patients.”

The coalition also voiced concerns that dentists would be unlikely to join a network based on the current Medicare structure due to several factors, such as:

• Low reimbursement rates that fail to address overhead costs associated with delivering dental care
• Undue burden on dentists by requiring compliance with regulations designed for the medical delivery system, such as those for Electronic Health Records, quality ratings, auditing/compliance, documentation, and more.

The letter stressed that without robust provider participation, access to care for Medicare beneficiaries would suffer. In closing, the coalition communicated its commitment to continuing the conversation with Congress on how to best address the oral health needs of all Americans, including the Nation’s seniors.

Impact on General Dentistry: AGD and allies in organized dentistry and the broader oral health industry continue to collaborate in addressing the pending Medicare dental expansion issue. AGD supports enhanced benefits and reimbursement in private sector initiatives for dental benefits, and AGD believes that the Medicare program cannot sustain the inclusion of dental benefits.