FROM ASDA
Thank you for making Advocacy Month a success

Last month ASDA members joined together virtually to advocate for the profession and the patients they serve.
  • More than 340 students signed up to receive advocacy text alerts
  • More than 70 students tuned in for the Teledentistry: Outreach and Care of the Future webinar
  • More than 80 students submitted points towards advocacy certificates in the month of November
Congratulations to the Louisiana chapter for winning the text alert competition by signing up 58 members to receive text alerts via the ASDA Action advocacy platform.
Want to learn more about the ASDA Advocacy Certificate Program? Check out Legislative Coordinator for Districts 4&5 and current Excellence in Advocacy Engagement Award winner Katherine Malyszek's quick take on the initiative.

Advocacy Events Spotlight: Explore your creativity with advocacy
It's time to stop reinventing the advocacy wheel. Rather than plan an event from scratch, learn from leaders who have planned successful advocacy events at other chapters. 
Nebraska: Art and Advocacy
Students got their paint on and enjoyed mock-tails while listening to a presentation on current advocacy topics. The chapter painted teeth to create a mural for "Tooth Art Tuesday."


Missouri-Kansas City: Advocate and Decorate
Students were given prepackaged sugar cookies and icing to decorate at home along with an advocacy fact. To enter a drawing for a gift card, students submitted pictures of their cookies and what they thought about their fact.  
FROM Washington
Framework for potential COVID-19 relief bill released
 
The issue: On Dec. 9 a group of bipartisan leaders released the possible framework for a COVID-19 relief bill. However, divisions among House and Senate leadership on key provisions within the proposal still remain. Some of the items included are:
  • Extension of student loan forbearance provisions created in the CARES Act through April 30, 2021
  • $300 billion for the Small Business Administration
  • $135 billion to the Provider Relief Fund and allows health systems to move targeted PRF distributions within their system
  • $160 billion in funding for state, local and tribal governments
  • Unemployment assistance including extending pandemic unemployment insurance by 16 weeks as well as an additional $300 per week of federal unemployment benefits for 16 weeks
Why is this important?
ASDA, along with several other associations within organized dentistry, has been advocating for specific principles to be included in the next COVID-19 relief package, including extending the forbearance provisions included in the CARES Act. ASDA will continue to monitor these developments.
 
Military Spouse Licensing Act introduced

The issue: In the fall, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the S.4608 Military Spouse Licensing Act. The bill would make the professional licenses of service members and their spouses portable to where they are relocated under military orders.

Why is this important?
In 2018, ASDA joined the Coalition for Modernizing Dental Licensure, committing to the advancement of two key goals: eliminating the single encounter, procedure-based patient examinations, replacing them with clinical assessments that have stronger validity and reliability evidence and increasing licensure portability to allow for professional mobility and improved access to care.

S.4608 would increase licensure portability for service members and their spouses and allow them to work during military deployments.
FROM the States
Proposed licensure changes in Iowa 
The issue: On Dec. 7 the Iowa Dental Board voted unanimously to allow a non-patient based clinical licensure exam to be accepted for licensure in Iowa in lieu of the patient exam. The manikin exams that would be accepted would be administered by the Central Regional Dental Testing Service (CRDTS) and the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX), as administered by the Commission on Dental Competency Assessments (CDCA). The amendments have been submitted to the Iowa Legislature Administrative Rules Review Committee for final approval. The rule will go into effect on Feb. 2, 2021.

Why is this important?
The vote demonstrates the importance of grassroots advocacy. ASDA has advocated for the elimination of the live patient exam throughout this pandemic. Iowa is an example of how to pass permanent licensure reform during these uncertain times.
Advocacy Brief shares news about ongoing issues and legislation that are of interest to dental students and organized dentistry. Inclusion of items does not imply their adherence to ASDA policy.