II 

Calendar No. 554 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3016 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve essential oral health 

care for low-income and other underserved individuals by breaking down 

barriers to care, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2018 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. SCOTT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

AUGUST 15, 2018 

Reported by Mr. ALEXANDER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve essential 

oral health care for low-income and other underserved 

individuals by breaking down barriers to care, and for 

other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Action for Dental 

3 Health Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. VOLUNTEER DENTAL PROJECTS AND ACTION FOR 

5 DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM. 

6 Section 317M of the Public Health Service Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 247b–14) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

9 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol11 lowing new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(e) ACTION FOR DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta14 tion with the Director of the Centers for Disease 

15 Control and Prevention and the Administrator of the 

16 Health Resources and Service Administration, may 

17 award grants to or enter into contracts with eligible 

18 entities to collaborate with State or local public offi19 cials and other stakeholders to develop and imple20 ment initiatives to— 

21 ‘‘(A) improve oral health education and 

22 dental disease prevention, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) through community-wide preven24 tion programs, such as programs that pro25 mote the use of dental sealants and fluo26 ride varnish; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) by increasing public awareness 

2 and education related to oral health and 

3 dental disease prevention; or 

4 ‘‘(B) reduce barriers to the provision of 

5 dental services. 

6 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this subsection, the 

7 term ‘eligible entity’ means an entity that is— 

8 ‘‘(A) a State or local dental association; 

9 ‘‘(B) a State oral health program; 

10 ‘‘(C) a dental education, dental hygiene, or 

11 postdoctoral dental education program accred12 ited by the Commission on Dental Accredita13 tion; or 

14 ‘‘(D) a community-based organization 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(i) partners with an academic insti17 tution; 

18 ‘‘(ii) is exempt from tax under section 

19 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) partners with public and private 

22 stakeholders to facilitate the provision of 

23 dental services for underserved popu24 lations.’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para2 graph (1), by striking ‘‘such sums as may be nec3 essary for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 

4 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘$18,000,000 for each of the 

5 fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS. 

7 Section 340G of the Public Health Service Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 256g) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b)(5)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(D) the establishment of dental homes for 

14 children and adults, including for the aged, 

15 blind, and disabled populations; 

16 ‘‘(E) the establishment of initiatives to re17 duce the use of emergency departments by indi18 viduals who seek dental services more appro19 priately delivered in a dental primary care set20 ting; and 

21 ‘‘(F) the provision of dental care to nurs22 ing home residents;’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘$25,000,000 

24 for the 5-fiscal year period beginning with fiscal year 


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1 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘$13,903,000 for each of fiscal 

2 years 2018 through 2022’’. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Action for Dental Health 

5 Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ORAL HEALTH EDUCATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 399LL of the Public Health 

8 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280k) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

11 ‘‘OF ORAL HEALTH EDUCATION CAMPAIGN’’ 

12 after ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘focused on oral healthcare 

14 prevention and education’’ and inserting ‘‘fo15 cused on oral health education’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

17 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘campaign’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘campaign under subsection (a)’’; and 

19 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(c) ACTION FOR DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the Director of the Centers for Disease Con24 trol and Prevention and the Administrator of the 

25 Health Resources and Services Administration, may 


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1 award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to 

2 eligible entities to collaborate with State or local pub3 lic health officials, tribal health officials, oral health 

4 professional organizations, and others, as appro5 priate, to develop and implement initiatives to im6 prove oral health, including activities to prevent den7 tal disease and reduce barriers to the provision of 

8 dental services, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) through community-wide dental dis10 ease prevention programs; and 

11 ‘‘(B) by increasing public awareness and 

12 education related to oral health and dental dis13 ease prevention. 

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re15 ceive a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

16 under this subsection, an entity shall be— 

17 ‘‘(A) a dental association; 

18 ‘‘(B) a State or tribal health department or 

19 State or tribal oral health program; 

20 ‘‘(C) an accredited dental education, dental 

21 hygiene, or postdoctoral dental education pro22 gram; or 

23 ‘‘(D) a non-profit community-based organi24 zation that partners with public and private 

25 non-profit entities, such as an academic instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:54 Aug 15, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3016.RS S3016

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1 tion, to facilitate the provision of dental services 

2 to underserved populations.’’; 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 399LL-1(d) of 

4 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280k-1(d)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, as 

7 practicable and appropriate,’’ before ‘‘utilize’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘public education campaign’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘oral health education campaign and 

10 action for dental health program’’. 

11 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services shall submit to the Committee 

14 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

15 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

16 of Representatives, a report on the outcomes and effective17 ness of programs and activities conducted under sections 

18 399LL and 399LL-1 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 280k and 280k-1). 

20 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS. 

21 Section 340G of the Public Health Service Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 256g) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (b)(5)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 at the end; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(D) the establishment or development of 

3 models for the provision of dental services to 

4 children and adults, such as dental homes, in5 cluding for the elderly, blind, individuals with 

6 disabilities, and individuals living in long-term 

7 care facilities; and 

8 ‘‘(E) the establishment of initiatives to re9 duce the use of emergency departments by indi10 viduals who seek dental services more appro11 priately delivered in a dental primary care set12 ting;’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘$25,000,000 

14 for the 5-fiscal year period beginning with fiscal year 

15 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘$13,903,000 for each of fiscal 

16 years 2019 through 2023’’. 


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Calendar No. 554 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3016 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve 

barriers to care, and for other purposes. other underserved individuals by breaking down essential oral health care for low-income and 

AUGUST 15, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


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