Lawmakers Push For Dental Care For Children In Low-Income Families

Main Category: Dentistry
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 14 Sep 2007 - 2:00 PST

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Members of Congress this month will continue to push legislation (HR 2371) that would strengthen dental care for children in low-income families, while Maryland officials are preparing to receive recommendations on Wednesday regarding a major overhaul of the state's Medicaid dental program, the Washington Post reports (Otto, Washington Post, 9/10). The bill in Congress was drafted by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in response to a May 2 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing that "identified major failures in access to dental services for children on Medicaid," he said.

The legislation, called Deamonte's Law, is named after Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old Maryland boy who died after a tooth infection spread to his brain because he lacked access to dental care (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/19). Members of Maryland's Democratic congressional delegation say they plan to advocate for guaranteed dental benefits to be included in the reauthorization of SCHIP, which expires on Sept. 30 (Washington Post, 9/10).

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