AGD Capitol Connections

Last month, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra issued notice establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule revising the quality standard for the amount of manufacture-added fluoride permitted in bottled water from 0.8 mg/L ppm to 0.7 mg/L ppm.

The AGD joined 64 other health and community organizations in letters to House and Senate appropriators urging their respective committees to increase fiscal year 2023 funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) by $68.5 million for a total of $310 million.

The White House announced that a pause on federal student loan repayments will be extended through August 31, 2022.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) concluded its regulatory review of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that would ban menthol and other characterizing flavors in cigarettes and cigars.

The AGD led an Organized Dentistry Coalition (ODC) letter urging the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to take up H.R.4555, the Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act.

The AGD joined Tobacco Free Kids and other health and medical organizations in a letter urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fulfill its commitment to issue rules prohibiting menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors in cigars.

Last week, the House passed H.R.1916, the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA), by a 310-110 vote. ELSA would require all private group and individual health insurance plans to cover medically necessary services, including dental treatment, for patients with congenital anomalies.

H.R.4555, the Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act, overwhelmingly passed the House by a 369-58 vote last year, but the Senate has yet to take up this important public health legislation.

The 2022 National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program (NHSC SP) is now accepting applications from health professional students studying to become dentists, physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physician assistants.

Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it would reopen its existing public comment docket for the COVID-19 healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that expired on December 21, 2021.

On Monday, President Biden sent his Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal for the U.S. government to Congress.

S.1793, the Dental and Optometric Care (DOC) Access Act, was introduced in the Senate by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND).

S.3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act is undergoing a markup by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee this week. The legislation is designed to prepare for and respond to existing and emerging viruses and other health threats.

Congress passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package last week that would fund federal operations for the remainder of fiscal year 2022.

On Monday, AGD met with the offices of Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to discuss sponsoring H.R.4555, the Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act.

The AGD thanked Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Boozman (R-AR) for introducing S.3658, the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act, in a letter addressed to their offices on Tuesday.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will issue $560 million in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 payments to more than 4,100 providers this week. The agency has issued nearly $11.5 billion in PRF Phase 4 payments and $7.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published proposed guidelines for prescribing opioids to treat pain in patients 18 years and older. The proposed guidelines mark the first update to the CDC’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain since 2016.

In an interview with Bloomberg Law, Doug Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA), described the enactment of a permanent COVID-19 workplace standard for the healthcare industry as OSHA’s most urgent rulemaking.