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SPONSOR: |
Papen |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Rural Portable Dental Clinics for Children |
SB |
408 |
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ANALYST: |
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APPROPRIATION
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Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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$100.0 |
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Recurring |
GF |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates SB
450; HB370
SB173; SB182; SB293
Responses Received From
Department of Health (DOH)
Health Policy Commission (HPC)
NM State Department of Education (NMSDE)
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill
408 appropriates $100.0 from the state general fund to the Department of Health
(DOH) in fiscal year 2004. These funds
would be used to contract with a nonprofit school-based portable dental program
to provide dental screening, examinations and dental sealants. The population targeted in SB 408 is
uninsured low-income children, not eligible for Medicaid, but who are eligible
for the free or reduced-price school lunch program in rural school
districts.
Significant Issues
SB 408 would
provide funding to a non-profit organization for the provision of dental
screening, examinations and sealants in a school based setting. The DOH, Office of Dental Health (ODH)
currently contracts with two organizations for these services, targeting second
and third grade students in public schools. The DOH/ODH also provides these
services. Collectively, 15,000 students are screened annually and 60% of these
students were provided dental sealants.
The ODH, private for-profit dental organizations and non-profit dental
organizations also bill Medicaid and private insurances. The ODH serves children regardless of their
ability to pay.
The oral
health of children in New Mexico (NM) lags behind other states. A recent Oral Health Survey conducted by the
DOH/ODH, revealed 35% of
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of
$100.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 04 shall revert
to the general fund.
There is minimal administrative impact on the
Department. Existing staff would handle
additional procurement, contracting and monitoring activities.
RELATIONSHIP
Relates to:
SB 450, which would appropriate $669.0 from the general fund
to the Public Health Division of the Department of Health to provide community
dental health services in the fiscal year 2004.
HB370, Early Childhood Dental Caries Program --
funds and coordinates an early childhood caries program.
HB354, Personal Responsibility Education Program
-- educate low-income families on traditional family health care techniques,
nutrition, home first aid and how to obtain necessary health care services.
SB173, Expand Access to Dental and Health
Services -- appropriates $1,200.0 from the General Fund to the
Department of Health to contract with rural primary health care and dental
clinics to leverage federal dollars at newly established or expanded clinic
sites,
SB182, Expand New Mexico Health
Services Corps -- appropriates $500.0 from the General Fund to
the New Mexico Health Service Corps (NMHSC) to increase the number of
physicians, dentists, dental assistants and psychiatrists, pursuant to the
Health Services Corps Act.
SB293, Fund Professional Health Recruitment in
SJM24, Develop Early Childhood Dental Caries
Program -- requests that the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
(UNM HSC) Division of Dental Services create a task force to coordinate efforts
to develop a comprehensive early childhood caries program, and evaluate and
make recommendations about fluoride varnish projects.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
Funding
under SB 408 should not be confined to a single non-profit provider, as public,
for-profit and non-profit organizations provide these services.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE
ISSUES
Dental decay is the single most common
chronic childhood disease, five times more common than asthma and seven times
more common than hay fever. Twenty-five percent (25%) of children suffer 80% of
tooth decay. In an Oral Health Survey conducted by the Health Department in
2000, findings show when compared to other states,
The
New Mexico Health Policy Commission Report, “Quick Facts 2003,” reports 22.4%
of New Mexicans are uninsured as compared with a national average of 14.4%.
Other socioeconomic indicators rank the state 50th in the level of
poverty and 49th in oral health status.
Poor children
suffer twice as much tooth decay as their more
affluent peers. More than 51 million school hours are lost each year to dental
related illness. Poor children suffer nearly 12 times as many restricted
activity days as children from higher income families. Twenty-five percent
(25%) of poor and minority children never visit a dentist before entering
kindergarten. Fewer than 1 in 5 children covered by
Medicaid ever receive a single dental visit.
Children from families without dental insurance are three times more
likely to have unmet dental needs than children with either public or private
insurance. Uninsured children are 2.5 times less likely than insured children
to receive dental care (
Children living in poverty, as well as
minorities, American Indians and Alaska Natives are at higher risk for caries
(tooth decay) and are less likely than others to receive dental care. (American Association of
Community Dental Programs. Seal
According
to Healthy People 2010, dental caries is the single most common chronic disease
in childhood. More than half of all
children have caries by the second grade, and by the time students finish high
school, about 80% have had dental decay.
The oral health needs
of New Mexicans go unmet partly due to a shortage of dental professionals. In
1998,
Bringing
preventive dental services to children through a school-based portable dental
program has been an effective way to increase access to those who otherwise may
not receive dental care. Dental sealants
are a cost effective way to prevent tooth decay and expensive restorative treatment. Maintaining optimal oral health is important
for a child’s self esteem and long term health.
AMENDMENTS
Amend
lines 18 and 19 to read “…to contract with a nonprofit school based portable
dental program community based providers…”
BD/yr