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US Senate Committee Hearing:
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
America’s Dental Care Crisis
This is an issue that is not talked about anywhere nearly enough.
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Our health care system and health insurance policies still largely treat the mouth as separate from the rest of the body, leaving oral health care unaffordable and out of reach for millions of Americans.
How Can We Make Dental Care More Affordable and More Available?
On May 16, 2024, Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, MBA, Senior Advisor and former President and CEO of CareQuest Institute testified on a panel of medical and dental professionals before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) about dental care affordability and accessibility.
The hearing is in response to the millions of people across the country who cannot access the oral health care they need — most often because they cannot afford it. In fact, dental care is the number one medical service skipped due to cost, even more than prescription drugs. Nearly 70 million adults and nearly 8 million children in the United States do not have dental insurance.
Expert panelists providing testimony with Dr. Minter-Jordan included:
- Lisa Simon, MD, DMD, Associate Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Member of the Faculty, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Brian Jeffrey Swann, DMD, MPH, Board of Directors, Remote Area Medical (RAM), Co-Chair, Global Oral Health Outreach, National Dental Association, Rockford, TN
- Gordon Roswell Isbell, III, DMD, MAGD, Past Trustee, Academy of General Dentistry, Gadsden, AL
New Legislation to Address America’s Dental Crisis
The Comprehensive Dental Reform Act of 2024, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), would expand Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Health Administration benefits to provide comprehensive dental coverage to all seniors, veterans, and low-income families.