Here are four recent CMS updates affecting the dental industry:
1. CMS launched its Office of Rural Health Transformation to strengthen rural health systems and expand access to care. The launch also came with $50 billion in funding distributed among all 50 states to advance rural health initiatives.
2. A coalition of 26 organizations is advocating for CMS to appoint a new chief dental officer to strengthen oral health leadership and support policy initiatives. The coalition warned that policy decisions made without dental expertise can undermine access to care and result in failed opportunities to prevent disease and reduce downstream costs.
3. CMS added an oral health incentive as part of its merit-based payment system in its 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
4. A new report from the American Dental Association’s Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention found that only seven states are meeting network adequacy standards for Medicaid. The report concluded that CMS has not enforced compliance, attributing this to different interpretations of the law between presidential administrations and managed care organizations.
