An Act To Increase Dental Benefits and Oral Health Care
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1122
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: HINCK, CRAVEN, BERRY, EVES, PETERSON, ROTUNDO, STRANG BURGESS, STUCKEY, TREAT
Amends: 22 MRSA §3174-F

Legislative Document 
No. 1122 
H.P. 834 
House of Representatives, March 15, 2011 
An Act To Increase Dental Benefits and Oral Health Care 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative HINCK of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator CRAVEN of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, CORNELL du HOUX of Brunswick, EVES of 
North Berwick, PETERSON of Rumford, ROTUNDO of Lewiston, STRANG BURGESS of 
Cumberland, STUCKEY of Portland, TREAT of Hallowell. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §3174-F, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1997, c. 159, §§1 and 2 
and PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read: 
1.  Coverage provided.  The Department of Health and Human Services shall 
provide dental services, reimbursed under the United States Social Security Act, Title 
XIX, or successors to it, to individuals 21 years of age and over, limited to: 
A.    Acute surgical care directly related to an accident where traumatic injury has 
occurred.  This coverage will only be provided for the first 3 months after the 
accident; 
B.    Oral surgical and related medical procedures not involving the dentition and 
gingiva; 
C.    Extraction of teeth that are severely decayed and pose a serious threat of 
infection during a major surgical procedure of the cardiovascular system, the skeletal 
system or during radiation therapy for a malignant tumor; 
D.    Treatment necessary to relieve pain, eliminate infection or prevent imminent 
tooth loss; and 
F.    Other dental services, including full and partial dentures, medically necessary to 
correct or ameliorate an underlying medical condition, if the department determines 
that provision of those services will be cost-effective in comparison to the provision 
of other covered medical services for the treatment of that condition. 
By January 1, 2012, benefits provided under this section must include repair of decayed 
or broken teeth and full or partial dentures. 
Sec. 2.  Report on the feasibility of implementing certain provisions of the 
Report of the Governor's Task Force on Expanding Access to Oral Health 
Care for Maine People.  The Department of Health and Human Services, Maine 
Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall convene a broadly representative 
working group to review the feasibility of implementing recommendations 3 and 4 of the 
2008 Report of the Governor's Task Force on Expanding Access to Oral Health Care for 
Maine People.  The working group must include representatives of public health officials 
and advocates, providers of health services, consumers of health services, public health 
educators, the Finance Authority of Maine, the Advisory Council on Health Systems 
Development, the MaineCare Advisory Committee and professional associations of 
health care providers.  The working group shall review the report and recommendation 3, 
which concerns integration of oral health care, and recommendation 4, which concerns a 
coordinated public education campaign, and the action steps for each recommendation.   
The working group shall report suggested legislation by November 1, 2011 to the Joint 
Standing Committee on Health and Human Services.  
SUMMARY 
This bill provides expanded dental benefits for adults in the MaineCare program and 
also directs the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease 
Control and Prevention to convene a broadly representative working group to review the 
feasibility of implementing certain provisions of the Governor's Task Force on Expanding 
Access to Oral Health Care for Maine People and to report with suggested legislation to 
the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services by November 1, 2011.