A group of healthcare organizations and experts sent a letter to Congress Aug. 3 asking for strengthened dental coverage under Medicare.
The letter was sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer, Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone Jr., and Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal. In it, the organizations asked Congress to pay for Medicare expansions through drug price negotiations.
Included in the letter are the results of a recent poll by market research company Morning Consult, which found the majority of Americans support adding dental, vision and hearing coverage to Medicare. The organizations also stated that these additions to Medicare would not only increase healthcare equity, but reduce long-term healthcare costs by reducing the number of emergency room visits.
Authors of the letter include the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, the National Dental Association, National Rural Health Association and former Harvard School of Dental Medicine Dean Bruce Donoff, DMD, MD.