The Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the HHS, is charged with improving access to healthcare for the uninsured, isolated and medically vulnerable.
ADA President Cesar Sabates, DDS, and ADA Executive Director Raymond Cohlmia, DDS, wrote the new HRSA administrator, Carole Johnson, stating that they looked forward to collaborating with her on these issues:
Combating workforce shortages
- Using Title VII oral health training grants to combat workforce shortages
- Using the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program to increase the dental workforce in underserved communities.
Challenging disparities and educating the community
- Boosting public and medical provider oral health education to meet the HHS”Healthy People” target for using the oral health care system
- Addressing disparities in oral health
- Integrating oral health and primary care practice.
- Amending the health professional shortage area score
- Supporting collaborations between the medical and dental field
- Promoting community water fluoridation
- Emphasizing the importance of child and maternal dental care
- Giving Medicaid auditors training so dental program integrity is fair and efficient while still providing access to care
Alleviating dental education debt and repaying loans
- Funding the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and the National Students to Service Loan Repayment Program
- Decreasing the process time for Provider Relief Fund reconsideration applications
- Establishing loan repayment equity for new dentists working in federally qualified health centers and increasing clarity on eligible health professional shortage area scores.
- Giving dentists who collaborate with addiction specialists loan repayments
The letter also asks that HRSA elect a chief dental officer to oversee these issues.
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