DURBIN MEETS WITH ILLINOIS DENTAL ASSOCIATIONS AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SLASHES CRITICAL FUNDING FOR MEDICAID, AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

The following information was released by Illinois Senator Richard J. Durbin:

U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sat down with leadership of Delta Dental of Illinois and the Delta Dental Plans Association to discuss expanding access to dental care as congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration continue to attack critical health care programs by slashing $1 trillion in funding for Medicaid and more than $300 billion from the Affordable Care Act over the next decade.

"Dental care is a critical, but often-overlooked, part of staying healthy, and more than 2.8 million Illinoisans live in communities with a shortage of dental providers. And for children on Medicaid, it's even more difficult to find a pediatric dental care provider," said Durbin. "Today, I spoke with the leaders of Delta Dental of Illinois and the Delta Dental Plans Association about how we can improve access to quality dental care for Illinoisans, especially as congressional Republicans slash funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act."

Photos of the meeting are available here .

Last month, Durbin penned an op-ed about meeting Carolin Harvey, the Mayor of Carbondale, who urged Durbin to advocate for expanding access to pediatric dentistry. Durbin's meeting with Mayor Harvey inspired him to introduce the Promoting Dental Health Act, which would reauthorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Oral Health program to support 20 states in data collection, water fluoridation, educating dental health professionals, and community outreach programs.

In Illinois, 2.8 million people live in communities with a shortage of dental providers, and only 37 percent of children covered by Medicaid have a dental visit in a given year. One study found that it is nearly six times easier for a child with private insurance to get an oral health care appointment than those who have Medicaid.

In November 2023, Durbin sent three oversight letters to DentaQuest, Envolve, and Avesis three companies that administer dental benefits for Medicaid managed care companies (MCOs) in Illinois to seek answers on barriers to providing dental care to Medicaid enrollees. The letters raised concerns and investigated certain insurance practices that can limit and discourage provider participation in Medicaid, which exacerbate existing reimbursement rate challenges, resulting in an estimate of only 24 percent of Illinois dentists accepting Medicaid. As a result, Medicaid enrollees, including children and people with disabilities, have difficulty accessing adequate dental careoften facing extensive wait lists for necessary treatment.

In May 2023, Durbin released his "Roadmap to Grow Illinois' Rural Health Workforce," which includes partnering with Illinois dentists to organize efforts to provide new funding to address health care workforce shortages and staffing crises in rural Illinois.

Durbin also authored a provision in the American Rescue Plan to invest $1 billion into the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), which funds scholarships and loan repayment for new doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health clinicians who commit to serve in rural and urban areas of need. Medical professionals can graduate with student debt of more than $200,000, which can discourage them from pursuing these careers in the first place, or lead to them choosing to practice in high-paying specialties or in more affluent and urban areas. The NHSC program helps build the pipeline of new health providers and surge them to shortage areas. Today, Illinois has nearly 1,000 health professionals serving under the NHSC program.