On October 18, the House Health Committee voted two bills that impact dentistry and the delivery of dental care in the Commonwealth out of committee. HB 1417 calls for a restoration of comprehensive dental services for adult Medicaid patients and for the General Assembly to appropriate enough funds to cover those services. HB 1585 defines teledentistry and requires insurance payment for teledental services.

These votes are the first step in the legislative process. PDA's lobbyists, staff and volunteer leaders will continue to monitor developments and engage with lawmakers as these bills move through the House. The committee chair's reference to PDA's comments on these bills during the meeting illustrates that PDA is the trusted voice of dentistry in the halls of the state Capitol!