FROM ASDA

Advocacy Month is right around the corner

Advocacy Month is only 18 days away! Running all of November, this year’s theme is:

Getting Back to Our (Grass) Roots.

After taking a break due to COVID-19, ASDA’s national mascot, the Molar Bear, makes a triumphant return. Work with your chapter leaders to sign up and make sure she makes a stop at your chapter.

Save the date: Advocacy Chapter Idea Exchange on November 9 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Register here.

Let us know: What events are you planning for Advocacy Month? A random submission will be selected for a gift card.

Updated Advocacy Resources

As your preparations for Advocacy Month are underway, be sure to utilize ASDA’s updated advocacy resources.

Advocacy Brief Challenge

Can you find all the hidden words? Click the image to solve.

Legislative Updates

ASDA Addresses Student Debt with POST GRAD Act

ASDA, along with 14 other dental organizations, sent a letter to Representative Chu (D-Calif.) thanking her for sponsoring H.R. 4631, the Protecting Our Students by Terminating Graduate Rates that Add to Debt Act – or POST GRAD Act. This bill would reinstate eligibility for graduate and professional students to use federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans. These loans were originally available to graduate and professional students, but today, they are only available to undergraduates. ASDA has supported this bill in the past, where it failed to come to a vote in a previous session of Congress.

Why is this important? ASDA’s F-4 Student Debt policy supports initiatives to reduce the burden of debt for dental students. Reinstating eligibility for federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans achieves this objective.

NHSC can help with student loan debt

The National Health Service Corps Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (NHSC S2S LRP) application is now open through November 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

You may qualify for up to $120,000 in tax-free loan repayment for your dental school student loans in exchange for a three-year service commitment in a high-need rural, tribal or urban community. View complete program eligibility requirements here and watch this pre-recorded webinar for more information. Need help with your application? Join the Q&A session hosted by NHSC on Tuesday, October 26 between 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.

ASDA Adopts Interim Policy on Eldercare

The ASDA Board of Trustees adopted the following interim policy on eldercare on September 19:

The American Student Dental Association (ASDA) supports appropriate initiatives and legislation to improve and foster the oral health of elderly patients. The Association encourages dental and allied dental programs to educate students about the oral health needs and issues of elderly patients. The Association believes that a dental benefit in a public program for the elderly should include the following:

Covers individuals under 300% of the Federal Poverty Level
Covers the range of services necessary to achieve and maintain oral health
Ensures proper reimbursement to dental health providers

Typically, association policy is adopted at Annual Session during House of Delegates meetings. However, the Board recognized the urgency of the Medicare discussion within Congress and the need to act quickly. This interim policy will remain in place until ASDA’s 2022 House of Delegates meeting when delegates will have the opportunity to vote on approving the policy.

ASDA, along with 10 other dental organizations, sent a letter to Congressional leaders outlining concerns of adding the benefit to Part B. Instead, ASDA supported an alternative solution developed by the ADA called Part T. Click the image to learn more.

ASDA members sent over 850 letters to representatives in Congress opposing a dental benefit to Medicare Part B, proving to be ASDA’s most successful campaign of 2021. Thanks to all of our ASDA Advocates for engaging in the democratic process and making your voice heard.

FROM WASHINGTON

Medicare Dental Benefit

As of October 13, the $3.5T spending package, which includes the provision for a Medicare dental benefit, has not come to the floor for a vote.

On September 30, President Biden signed legislation to avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through December 3. This legislation was necessary to keep the government running once the current budget year ended at midnight on September 30. It allows lawmakers more time to continue drafting the spending measures that will fund federal agencies and programs.

Contact advocacydept@ASDAnet.org with any questions.

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