Dental industry leaders are preparing for what may be some harsh consequences of the recently enacted federal budget bill.
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act July 4. The bill is expected to increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion, and lead to a decrease in Medicaid spending by nearly $1 trillion. The number of uninsured individuals is expected to grow by 11.8 million more people by 2034. The legislation has been criticized by many healthcare organizations, with many leaders denouncing the bill’s cuts to healthcare.
Melissa Burroughs, the senior director of public policy for the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, called the bill’s passage a “dangerous setback,” adding that several provisions of the bill will make it more difficult for individuals to afford dental care and manage diseases linked to oral health.
“Deep cuts to Medicaid funding, new work requirements, and caps on the mechanisms that states use to fund the program threaten to drastically reduce access to care across the country,” she said. “At a time when we should be improving access to prevention and care, this bill moves in the wrong direction. We urge Congress to prioritize policies that protect and strengthen access to oral healthcare–not dismantle it.”
The American Dental Association said in a statement to Becker’s that although it is pleased with tax provisions within the bill that will support dental practices, it is concerned with other terms of the bill, including changes to student aid and Medicaid.
“Sadly, the act will disproportionately burden dental students with the loss of the GradPlus loan program, the reduction to two loan repayment options, and caps on student aid,” the statement said. “The OBBB’s impact on Medicaid’s adult dental benefits is unknown, but the cost-cutting measures and reform requirements OBBB imposes on the program could force states to reduce or eliminate these benefits, which are optional under federal law. The implication of which will increase healthcare costs, worsen health outcomes, and undermine workforce participation.”
Robert Baskies, DMD, said the impact of the budget bill will depend on the practice’s patient base.
“If the practice has a large population of Medicaid patients, then the practice will see fewer patients over the coming years, hence these practices will see a decline in revenue,” Dr. Baskies said. “If the practice has a middle-class patient population and this patient pool does not feel the effects, then it will survive and may in fact see growth.”
Thomas von Sydow, the CEO of Cornerstone Group, agreed that practices serving Medicaid patients will take the biggest hit.
“It is my belief that consumers will start to feel an increase in cash flow. This will free them to visit the general dentist, thus increasing our referrals since our organization is 100% focused on endodontics,” he told Becker’s. “Some believe that it will have a negative economic effect, but our business is fairly recession resistant as well. I would be concerned if my organization was heavily weighted on Medicaid. Those practices need a plan.”
