FEINGOLD, COLLINS CONTINUE PUSH FOR BETTER DENTAL CARE FOR THE UNDERSERVED
Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Help States Fund Initiatives That Expand
Access to Dental Care
November 3, 2006
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Susan
Collins (R-ME) are continuing their effort to strengthen dental care
for the underserved. In a letter to Office of Management and Budget
Director Rob Portman, Feingold and Collins called on the Administration
to adequately fund the Collins-Feingold Dental Health Improvement Act
to strengthen the dental workforce in rural and underserved communities.
The Collins-Feingold legislation, which was authorized in 2002, provides
grants to states to help them develop innovative programs tailored to
the needs of the state.
“As dental health continues to make great strides in this country,
we have to make sure that these new advances are reaching as many people
as possible,” Feingold said. “The federal budget must provide
the necessary funding to ensure low-income families, or people living
in rural or underserved areas, are getting access to dental care.”
“Oral health in America has improved dramatically over the last
fifty years, but these improvements have not occurred evenly across
all sectors of our population, particularly among low-income individuals
and families,” said Senator Collins. “This legislation provides
support, flexibility, and a commitment to dental scholarships and loan
repayment programs that will help attract more dentists to rural and
underserved communities that are in desperate need of their services.”
An estimated 25 million Americans live in areas lacking adequate dental
services and as many as 11 percent of our nation’s rural population
has never been to a dentist. With 20 percent of dentists nationwide
set to retire in the next ten years and not enough dental graduates
to replace them, many states face serious shortages in dental professionals.
The grants approved by the Collins-Feingold bill can help with loan
forgiveness and repayment programs, expand community-based dental facilities,
enhance recruitment and retention efforts, or fund other initiatives
to help make dental services more accessible.
A copy of the letter is available here.
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