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President Biden Signs Spending Bill Into Law

On March 23 President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending bill into law that will fund the government through Sept. 30. The bill includes funding for the following dental and oral health programs.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Oral Health, which works to improve national oral health and reduce inequalities, received $20 million.
• Health Resources and Services Administration’s oral health training programs, which work to improve access to care by increasing the number of oral health care providers working in underserved areas, received $42 million.
• The Ryan White Dental Program, which works to reduce barriers to dental care for people living with HIV, received $13.6 million.

The programs above were funded at the same level as 2023. The U.S. Department of Defense’s Military Dental Research Program, which works to help service members who suffered head and facial injuries in the field, received an increase of $2 million for a total of $12 million.

Click here to learn more about all the programs included in the spending bill.  

Major Victory for Licensure Portability

On April 12, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed House Bill 2453 into law. Then on April 22, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed Legislative Document 213 into law. Both bills enter the state into the Dental and Dental Hygienist (DDH) Compact, an interstate compact that allows dental professionals to cross state lines and practice in participating states.  

Kansas and Maine join Virginia, Iowa, Washington, Tennessee and Wisconsin in the Compact.  

Since seven states have enacted legislation to join the DDH Compact, the threshold has been met to form a Compact Commission. The Commission agrees to recognize dentists and dental hygienists from other member states. It will also facilitate background checks and ensure that dental professionals are in good standing before issuing compact privileges. The first compact privileges are expected to be issued in about a year.   

This allows dentists and dental hygienists to practice in multiple states without the financial and administrative burden of applying for licensure the traditional way.  

ASDA demonstrated support for the compact and worked alongside the Council of State Governments, the American Dental Association and the American Dental Hygienist Association on legislative language for compact bills to be introduced in these initial states.  

At ASDA’s 2024 Annual Session, the House of Delegates adopted L-4, the Licensure Portability policy. The policy supports efforts to increase licensure portability and the adoption of interstate compacts.  

Read more about the DDH Compact.  

Florida Expands Loan Repayment Program

On March 21, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that expands the Dental Loan Repayment Program. Key changes to the program include the following:  

• Opening the program to dental hygienists. 
• Modifying eligibility to include private practices that are in dental health professional shortage areas as eligible locations.  

ASDA’s F-4 policy supports initiatives to reduce the burden of debt for dental students, including providing opportunities for loan forgiveness.  

Learn more about the changes to the Florida Dental Loan Repayment Program.