The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) recently compiled lists of designated medically underserved areas by congressional district as determined by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). All of these counties, as well as the constituents who live in them, will be negatively impacted by severe funding cuts to the Title VII Health Professions' program funding in the 2007 fiscal year Labor-HHS-Education budget currently being contemplated by Congress.
The Title VII Health Professions Training Programs, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department's HRSA, provide grants to organizations that train and educate health care professionals at more than 1,700 institutions. These grants are specifically focused on improving the quality, geographic distribution and diversity of the health care workforce.
Students funded through Title VII programs provide basic oral health care services to underserved populations as part of their training. Further, health care practitioners who spend part of their training providing for the underserved are three to ten times more likely to practice in underserved areas after graduation or program completion.
"To the dismay of the dental profession, which both directly and indirectly employs more than two million people, General Practice Residency (GPR) training programs were completely eliminated by the president and slashed by more than 50 percent by the House of Representatives' Health Appropriations Committee from the 2005 fiscal year level," said Bruce DeGinder, DDS, MAGD, AGD president.
"Members of Congress need to know how these funding cuts will specifically impact their states, congressional districts, constituents and voters," stated Janet Kopenhaver, the AGD's Washington lobbyist. "These constituents all need and deserve access to oral health care services. Cutting funding simply means that more Americans are going without dental care, eliminating the opportunity to detect more serious health and medical problems down the road. Poor oral health only results in increased costs to our government."
"While the Senate Appropriations Committee raised the amount by $10 million in their respective appropriations bill, it still remains at $40.8 million, well below the 2005 fiscal year levels of $88 million," Dr. DeGinder added. "It is crucial to preserve the continuation of these important programs. If we do not provide adequate funding for these programs, our underserved patient populations will face significant hurdles in achieving access to care for their dental needs."
General dentists nationwide are urging their legislators to retain funding for Title VII programs at levels at least as high as those in fiscal year 2005. For dentistry programs, this amounts to $88.8 million in Title VII funding for Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry; and $8.08 million under HRSA, General Dentistry and Pediatric Dentistry allocation.
