G ove r n men t Re lat ions
Dental Student Loan Forgiveness
In January, Rep. Karen Boback (R-Luzerne) circulated a memo
asking her colleagues to cosponsor the Student Loan Forgiveness
for Dentists Act, which creates a stand-alone loan repayment
program for dentists. This program, administered by the
Department of Health (DOH), would increase loan forgiveness
up to $200,000 for a three-year, full-time commitment in one of
Pennsylvania’s designated health professional shortage areas.
Currently, dentists enrolled in the DOH’s Primary Care Practitioner
Loan Repayment program are reimbursed up to $100,000 for a
two-year, full-time commitment. Each year, DOH officials
determined how many slots are available to dentists based on
need and number of applicants. The number of slots available
increases or decreases based on how DOH allocates its funding
to all primary care practitioners, including dentists. If this law is
enacted, general dentists and specialists who practice in settings
approved by DOH are eligible for student loan repayment up
to $200,000.
Assignment of Benefits
Having come so close to passing assignment of benefits
legislation last session, PDA’s Board of Trustees and Government
Relations Committee decided to make this a priority issue once
again this session. Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York) has committed
to introducing assignment of benefits legislation in the House
while Sen. Mike Reagan (R-Cumberland) is introducing
companion legislation in the Senate.
PDA’s lobbyist, staff and volunteer leaders are meeting with key
legislators and their staff members, as well as lobbyists from
the insurance industry, to determine whether steps can be taken
to neutralize opposition to this legislation so that it passes early
on this session.
PADPAC Update
Happy 2019! A new calendar year and a new legislative session
has begun. In Pennsylvania the two-year legislative sessions
begin in odd numbered years and end in even numbered years.
This current legislative cycle runs until November 30, 2020. In
practical terms it means that in order to achieve your legislative
goals we have to get our bills to the Governor before December
1, 2020. Any bill that misses that deadline dies and the process
starts all over again. Only the most determined advocates ever
achieve their goals. We will never give up and we will never stop
working for you. We put in the hours and make the contacts at
every opportunity to set the stage for victory. It’s a lot like three
dimensional chess where the pieces move on their own but
one of the aspects of the game is the personalities of the
legislators and their staff. You can do your part by contacting
your representative and your senator to begin building the
relationships that make the system work.
Talking with Rep. Mary Jo Daley (D-Montgomery) at the time
this article was written and mentioning to her that some PDA
members were hesitant to contact their legislators, I asked
her if legislators REALLY wanted to hear from their constituents.
She said, “Absolutely, YES. You can tell them I said that.”
Please contact your legislator as soon as possible. You don’t
have to have an issue you need help with. Even if you just touch
base and offer to be a resource for them. That’s a good start.
That opens the door for a deeper relationship. Members of the
General Assembly know about their profession. They know
about the issues that come before their committees. They
know about the issues that personally concern them. What they
don’t know are the topics that you know a lot about. You have
forgotten more about dentistry and health care than the
members of the General Assembly will ever know. You can help
them learn about why you do what you do. You can help them
learn about the challenges you face. You can help them help
you overcome those challenges. You can help them overcome
the challenges they and their constituents face. Working
together we can all win.
If you don’t know who your legislator is you can search https://
www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/
to type in your home address (where you vote) and the site
will tell you. Make a phone call to introduce yourself, or even
better, make an appointment to have lunch with them in their
district where their schedule is a bit more their own.
We try to achieve your victories as quickly as possible. PDA
President Dr. Jim Boyle and your government relations staff have
been laying the ground work since the last session ended.
We’ve had meetings with House and Senate members to lay
out the strategy that takes your legislative and regulatory goals
and turns them into concrete reality that changes, for the better,
the lives of dentists and their patients.
As we begin the journey to achieve your legislative and
regulatory goals this session we all need to work together to
make them happen. 2019 can be the year that one of PDA’s
biggest priorities – Assignment of Benefits – becomes the law
of the land.
One of the best ways to do your part on the road to success is
to become a PADPAC member and a PADPAC contributor.
By contributing to PADPAC you are directly making a significant
and positive impact in your professional life and in your
professional organization.
MARCH/AP RIL 2019 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
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