II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1878 

To assist low-income individuals in obtaining recommended dental care. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2011 

Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To assist low-income individuals in obtaining recommended 

dental care. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coordination of Pro 

5 Bono Medically Recommended Dental Care Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS OR CONTRACTS TO FACILITATE LOW-IN7 COME ACCESS TO DENTAL CARE. 

8 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

9 is amended by inserting after section 317M (42 U.S.C. 

10 247b–14a) the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 317M–1. GRANTS OR CONTRACTS TO FACILITATE 

2 LOW-INCOME ACCESS TO DENTAL CARE. 

3 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award competi4 tive grants to, or enter into contracts with, eligible entities 

5 to fund the employment costs of professionals who will use 

6 grant or contract funds to— 

7 ‘‘(1) coordinate the provision of medically rec8 ommended dental care to eligible low-income individ9 uals by volunteer dentists in a manner consistent 

10 with State licensing laws; and 

11 ‘‘(2) verify the medical, dental, and financial 

12 needs of eligible low-income individuals who may be 

13 eligible for free dental services. 

14 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to re16 ceive a grant or contract under subsection (a), an 

17 entity shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) be an entity that is exempt from tax 

19 under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986; 

21 ‘‘(B) provide for the participation of eligi22 ble individuals in a free dental services program 

23 on a national basis; and 

24 ‘‘(C) submit to the Secretary an applica25 tion at such time, in such manner, and conVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:33 Nov 17, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1878.IS S1878

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1 taining such information as the Secretary may 

2 require. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—To be eligible to 

4 participate in a program described in paragraph 

5 (1)(B), an individual shall be— 

6 ‘‘(A) an adult individual entitled to bene7 fits under part A of title XVIII of the Social 

8 Security Act; 

9 ‘‘(B) an individual enrolled in part B of 

10 title XVIII of such Act; 

11 ‘‘(C) an individual enrolled in a State plan 

12 or waiver under title XIX of such Act; or 

13 ‘‘(D) an individual enrolled in a State child 

14 health plan under title XXI of such Act or 

15 under an approved waiver of such plan. 

16 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity shall use amounts 

17 received under a grant or contract under this section to 

18 establish, expand, or operate a program to coordinate the 

19 provision of free dental care through volunteer dentists to 

20 eligible individuals. 

21 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

23 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016.’’. 

Æ 


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