3 things you missed in government this week

Medicaid, tax hikes, fluoride supplements

“Three Things You Missed in Government This Week” is designed to offer a way to stay informed on the topics of the week. These updates are meant to offer brief details on legislative or regulatory topics to keep dentists engaged and up to date. To explore the ADA’s latest advocacy efforts, more information is available at ADA.org/Advocacy.  

1.    The House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up a health legislative package as part of the 2025 budget reconciliation process. As part of an update series on reconciliation, the ADA sent an Advocacy Update to members flagging provisions in this package that could impact dental coverage and access for low-income adults. It also submitted a letter to the committee raising concerns about some sections impacting Medicaid dental coverage. 

2.    The ADA issued a Grassroots Alert urging members to contact their representatives in Congress to oppose to a provision in the House Ways and Means Committee tax bill that “unfairly targets small business dental practices” by eliminating the ability to deduct pass-through entity taxes at the federal level. This would result in a new tax increase on dentists who own or are partners in practices structured as S corporations or partnerships and approximately 30% of dentists nationally would be directly impacted, according to the alert. 

3.    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it plans to remove prescription fluoride supplements from the market once a safety review is completed. The safety review applies to ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children. It does not include toothpaste, mouth rinses or topical products containing fluoride. The ADA affirmed its support of fluoride supplements, which it said have proved to be effective at reducing tooth decay.