1Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study
2and to issue a report on the status of and any disparities
3found in dental care for Pennsylvanians with disabilities.

4WHEREAS, Dental care is vitally important for each of us,
5affecting overall health, employability and social inclusion;
6and

7WHEREAS, Many individuals, including the unemployed, those of
8low income, the uninsured and the elderly, have great difficulty
9finding and seeing a dentist and paying for dental care, and
10those who have disabilities have greater difficulties still
11because of the very nature of dental offices, many of which are
12not accessible to people with physical disabilities; and

13WHEREAS, Beyond structural inaccessibility, many individuals
14with disabilities are insured through Medicaid and there is a
15chronic and serious shortage of dentists and dental care
16professionals available to Medicaid patients; and

17WHEREAS, Dental patients with disabilities may present to the

1dental health professional other challenges that the dentist is
2unwilling or unskilled to undertake, including positive
3behavioral supports, the need for anesthesia and the concomitant
4need for specialized anesthesia application; and

5WHEREAS, Lack of dental care is a recognized indicator of
6greater likelihood of chronic illnesses and poor health
7outcomes; and

8WHEREAS, Dental care and preventive dental health are far
9less expensive to deliver than is care resulting from the lack
10of oral health care and the chronic and serious conditions that
11are left untreated; and

12WHEREAS, The breadth and depth of the problem of lack of
13access to dental care must be fully understood before systemic
14changes are made in the way health care professionals are
15recruited and incentivized to serve persons with disabilities
16and other underserved communities; therefore be it

17RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Legislative Budget and
18Finance Committee to conduct a study of the disparities that
19exist in accessing and receiving dental care among persons with
20disabilities in this Commonwealth and to issue a report; and be
21it further

22RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
23determine the need for and availability of dental providers for
24children and adults 21 years of age and older with disabilities,
25county by county, throughout the State; and be it further

26RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
27examine availability of dental services for children and adults
28with disabilities in community-based care and specialized care,
29including the availability of accessible offices and equipment,
30the opportunity for dentists to perform deep sedation and

1anesthesia, conscious sedation and nitrous oxide for individuals
2with disabilities, which services accept Medicaid and which
3counties need additional dental care and specialty support; and
4be it further

5RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
6study its findings and make recommendations as to what will
7preserve the quality dental services already in place and what
8mechanisms, including the feasibility of increasing Medicaid
9dental care payments; liberalizing and modifying dental loan
10repayment programs for service in underserved areas and for this
11underserved population; <-requiring private insurers to pay for 
12anesthesia services for dental patients who are persons with 
13disabilities who need such service; and work force initiatives
14to responsibly expand the scopes of practice of carefully
15supervised <-dental public health hygienists public health dental 
16hygiene practitioners will incentivize more dental practitioners
17to open their practices to persons with disabilities; and be it
18further

19RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
20compile a report based on its findings and recommendations and
21submit the report to the Senate as soon as possible, but not
22later than November 30, 2014.