President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending package March 23 that provides funding for several federal agencies through the next six months.
The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 includes additional funding for HHS, which supports several oral health initiatives.
Here is how the spending package supports oral health initiatives:
1. A total of $194.4 billion in discretionary funds were provided under the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
2. The act also provided $222.2 billion in non-defense topline resources, representing a 1% decline in funding from fiscal year 2023.
3. The bill includes $41 million toward oral health training programs, including $15 million for State Oral Health Workforce grants, $13 million for general dentistry programs and $13 million for pediatric dentistry programs.
4. A total of $5.2 million was allocated to oral health support under the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Special Projects of Regional and National Significance program.
5. The Ryan White Part F Dental Reimbursement Program was given $13.6 million. This program aims to improve access to oral healthcare services for low-income people with HIV and helps support education and training for the delivery of dental care to people with HIV.
6. The Department of Education will also provide grant funding for dentistry-related programs and dental centers, including $3.6 million for Apple Tree Dental, which operates nine offices in Minnesota, and $1.9 million for Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Wash., to support a dental training clinic.
7. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research also received $520.2 million.
Click here to read the full bill.