CHICAGO--The Academy of General Dentistry wholeheartedly supports and extends its appreciation to Congress for increasing the Title VII health professions programs in the recently passed Joint Funding resolution that will fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year 2007.
The resolution provided $185 million for the Title VII health professions programs, an increase of $40 million over fiscal year 2006. The additional Title VII funds include an $8 million increase for primary care medicine and dentistry programs, up to $48 million.
"We express our appreciation to the appropriators, especially House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-7-WI), for leading the charge to increase funding for these important programs," Bruce DeGinder, DDS, MAGD, president of the AGD, announced upon the approval of the resolution by the Senate by a vote of 81-15, and the signing of the measure by the president.
"However, as many in the Congress agree, these funding levels are far from what is needed to keep these Title VII programs running and thus providing essential health care services to Americans living in medically underserved areas."
One of AGD's top legislative goals is access to oral health-care services nationwide. Title VII programs are the only federal programs designed to train providers in interdisciplinary settings to meet the needs of special and underserved populations. The programs provide grants to organizations that train and educate health-care professionals at more than 1,700 institutions.
Over the 20-year history of the Title VII support for general dentistry training, 59 new dental residency programs and 560 new positions were created. About 305 of the dentistry graduates from these programs established practices and spent 50 percent or more of their time in health professional shortage areas or settings providing care to underserved communities.
"AGD members will continue lobbying their legislators to increase the funding for Title VII dentistry programs to fiscal year 2005 levels in fiscal year 2008," asserted Janet Kopenhaver, AGD's Washington Lobbyist.
These levels were $88.8 million for Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry and $8.08 million for Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA), General Dentistry/Pediatric Dentistry.
"With so much emphasis on problems with access to health care in our country today, it does not make sense to substantially cut critical funding for those programs that specifically lead to providing more health care to Americans living in medically underserved areas and not receiving the health care services they desperately need," Kopenhaver added.
The AGD is planning a very active lobbying campaign this year, including a Washington Leadership Conference in June that includes visits on Capitol Hill. Title VII funding will be at the top of the list for these Hill meetings.
