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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Feldman

DATE TYPED 02/02/05 HB

SHORT TITLE Higher Education Pre-Dental Clubs

SB 237

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$50.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the appropriation for the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education in the Gen-

eral Appropriations Act.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Department of Health (DOH)

New Mexico State Health Policy Commission (HPC)

Responses Not Received From

New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 237 – Making an Appropriation to Establish a Program of Pre-Dental Clubs at a New

Mexico Institution of Higher Education to Promote Increased Numbers of New Mexicans in the

Dental Profession – appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the Commission on Higher

Education for expenditure in FY06 to fund a half-time faculty member at an institution of higher

learning in New Mexico to administer pre-dental clubs to foster better preparedness of New

Mexico students competing for entry to dental schools. Any unexpended or unencumbered bal-

ance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the general fund.

Senate Bill 237 -- Page 2

Significant Issues

DOH indicates that New Mexico has no dental school and is currently experiencing a shortage of

dentists. Further, the Governor’s Oral Health Council (GOHC) recently submitted

recommendations regarding workforce development to Governor Richardson. The GOHC

workforce committee recommended that pre-dental clubs be established at all institutions of

higher learning throughout the State. Pre-dental clubs would have the ability to provide career

counseling and mentorship programs.

HPC indicates that New Mexico has traditionally been severely underserved in oral health.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) reports:

•

There were 616 dentists, 560 dental hygienists, and 1,520 dental assistants practicing in

New Mexico in 2000. There were 33.8 dentists per 100,000 population in New Mexico in

2000, well below the national rate of 63.6. New Mexico ranked 49th in the nation in

dentists per capita. The per capita ratio of dental hygienists was also below the national

rate.

•

The number of dentists in New Mexico increased 2 percent between 1991 and 2000 while

the state’s population grew 18 percent. The result was a 13 percent decline in dentists per

capita, in contrast to a 16 percent increase nationwide.

HPC indicates that pre-dental clubs have been shown to increase interest in entering the field of

dentistry, and give students a better opportunity for admission to dental schools. As reported at

the Dental Education Summit, faculty recruited to administer pre-dental clubs can serve a

mentoring function, as well as help to develop pre-dental coursework that would enhance New

Mexico students’ ability to enroll and excel in dental school. Pre-dental clubs would also

provide career counseling. Further, HPC suggests that the University of Utah provides a good

example of the success of pre-dental clubs: as reported at the dental summit, Utah had 127

students enrolled in dental school for 2002, while New Mexico had only nineteen.

DOH notes that House Memorial 1, Dental Education Summit Final Report and

Recommendations, October 1, 2003, submitted by the Health Policy Commission, also

recommended development of active pre-dental clubs at the five colleges that offer baccalaureate

degrees.

DOH additionally suggests the proposed appropriation in SB 237 would address the shortage of

dentists in New Mexico by funding a half time faculty position dedicated to increasing the

number of qualified New Mexico students applying and getting accepted into out-of-state dental

schools. Increasing the number New Mexico dental students will increase the number of

dentists. This will help improve access to oral health services and reduce oral health disparities,

particularly for children.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

DOH observes that the appropriation proposed in SB 237 is consistent with the DOH strategic

plan Program Area 9, Strategic Direction: Achieve excellence and accountability in administra-

tion and service; Objective 3: Increase the health workforce supply, in collaboration with other

entities in New Mexico.

Senate Bill 237 -- Page 3

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $50,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the gen-

eral fund.

This program was not included in the CHE’s 2005-2006 Higher Education Funding

Recommendation.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

Bill does not specify which institution of higher learning would be is the recipient of the appro-

priation.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP OR RELATIONSHIP

Relates to the appropriation for the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education in the Gen-

eral Appropriations Act.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

DOH offers numerous observations with respect to programs designed to address the shortage of

oral health professionals in the state:

•

New Mexico has 11 slots dedicated to Dentistry with the Western Interstate Commission

on Higher Education (WICHE). This program provides students with a set scholarship

amount of $22,000 per year to use at an out-of-state dental program. Any amount above

the scholarship amount becomes the responsibility of the student. The GOHC has rec-

ommended increasing the number of slots to 15. The NM Health Service Corps Program

offers financial assistance to communities for recruitment and retention of dental profes-

sionals and offers stipends to dental students while in school. The University of New

Mexico has recently established a General Residency Program to train dentists in Berna-

lillo County.

•

The federal government has designated all or part of 26 New Mexico counties as dental

Health Professional Shortage Areas. Dental services are inadequate due to a shortage of

needed health professionals -- especially in rural and remote areas of the state. New

Mexico is below the national average for the number of dentists to population ratio and is

among the five states with the lowest number of dentists per 100,000 population. In

2000, the national dentist-to-population ratio was 58.3 dentists per 100,000. New Mexico

has only three counties with 50+ dentists per 100,000 population (Bernalillo, Santa Fe,

and Los Alamos counties).

•

A 2000 Oral Health Survey conducted by the DOH found that 65 percent of the 2,000

children surveyed had experienced tooth decay; and 37 percent of the sample had un-

treated tooth decay. NM children suffer from a higher rate of tooth decay, experiencing

more decay and having more untreated decay than the US average. Approximately one

of four (25 percent) NM adults, age 65 years and older, have lost all their natural teeth.

The national target recommended by Healthy People 2010 is to have no more than 20

percent of adults of this age group with loss of all natural teeth.

BFW/lg