The ADA works closely with lawmakers, regulators, and other stakeholders to help mend the tattered dental safety net. This includes reforming parts of the Medicaid program, which is the largest source of funding for medical and other health-related services for people with low income in the United States. The ADA is also fighting to maintain federal requirement for states to cover dental services in their respective Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs, which together cover over 79 million children and adults from low-income families.
Below is a list of congressional activities on Medicaid:
- April 3, 2025 — The Partnership for Medicaid Letter on Partnership Statement on Budget Resolution (PDF)
- March 13, 2025 — Letter to Congress on Medicaid Oral Health. (PDF)
- March 3, 2025 — Letter of Support for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) (PDF)
- October 2, 2024 — Letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee supporting the recent approval of key pieces of legislation during the Committee's markup, including H.R. 670 and H.R. 8107. (PDF)
- November 7, 2023 — Joint letter to Congressional leadership in support of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Permanency Act. (PDF)
- April 11, 2023 — Dental coalition letter to Congressman Mike Simpson, DMD, to thank him for introducing H.R. 1422, the Strengthening Medicaid Incentives for Licensees Enrolled in Dental (SMILED) Act, which would reduce administrative burdens in Medicaid, including audits and credentialing. (PDF)
- April 4, 2023 — ADA letter to Congressman Mike Simpson, DMD, to thank him for introducing H.R. 1422, the Strengthening Medicaid Incentives for Licensees Enrolled in Dental (SMILED) Act, which would reduce administrative burdens in Medicaid, including audits and credentialing. (PDF)
- March 21, 2023 — Letter sent to Congress in support of the Medicaid Dental Benefit Act. (PDF)
- March 17, 2023 — Letter to Senator Ben Cardin thanking him for introducing the Medicaid Dental Benefits Act, which would make comprehensive dental care a mandatory component of Medicaid coverage for adults in every state. (PDF)
- September 29, 2022 — Partnership for Medicaid to Congress addressing the Medicaid fiscal cliff in Puerto Rico and the territories. (PDF)
- July 7, 2022 — Coalition letter to congressional leaders urging their support for H.R.4439, the Medicaid Dental Benefit Act and S. 3166, the Medicaid Dental Benefits Act of 2021. (PDF) These bills would make comprehensive dental care a required component of Medicaid coverage for adults in every state.
- June 22, 2022 — ADA hosts a virtual briefing for Capitol Hill staff handling health care policy with Marko Vujicic, Ph.D., Chief Economist and Vice President and Chelsea Fosse, D.M.D., M.P.H., Senior Health Policy Analyst at the ADA’s Health Policy Institute. The HPI team presented on “Making the Case for Dental Coverage for Adults in All State Medicaid Programs” and the challenges low-income adults currently face in accessing oral health care services. (VIDEO)
- April 1, 2022 — Coalition letter asking Congress to protect coverage for beneficiaries should lawmakers and the administration seek to unwind enhanced Medicaid protections related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. (PDF)
- February 17, 2022 — Coalition Letter from the ADA, AAPD, and AAOMS to the House Ways and Means Committee asking the Committee to support the coalition’s efforts to ensure equitable access to dental surgical services in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers for children and adults with special needs and disabilities who have debilitating oral health problems and need access to timely treatment. (PDF)
- December 17, 2021 — Coalition letter calling for the Medicaid Dental Benefit Act to be included in the Senate’s Build Back Better reconciliation package (PDF). The Medicaid Dental Benefit Act would make comprehensive adult dental benefits a mandatory component of Medicaid coverage in every state.
- November 22, 2021 — Letter to Senator Cardin to thank him for introducing S.3166, the Medicaid Dental Benefits Act. (PDF)
- October 13, 2020 — Letter of support to U.S. Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan for legislation, H.R. 6495 the Insular Area Medicaid Parity Act, that would lift the Medicaid funding cap in the U.S. Territories. (PDF)