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

SPONSOR Irwin

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/30/06

HB 447

SHORT TITLE Rural Portable Dental Clinic Services

SB

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 425.

Relates to HB 294 (Improve School-Based Oral Health Care).

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Human Services Department (HSD)

Public Education Department (PED)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 447 appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the Department of Health to pro-

vide money to contract with a nonprofit school-based portable dental program to provide dental

screening examinations and dental sealants to 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.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

House Bill 447 – Page

2

According to the Department of Health (DOH), this appropriation is not part of the executive

budget. However, $1,132,500 is included in the DOH budget request for dental services con-

tracts.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Human Services Department (HSD), this appropriation would benefit a popula-

tion that technically does not exist. All children who are eligible

for the free or reduced-price

school lunch program are also eligible for Medicaid. However, because many undocumented

parents do not enroll their children in Medicaid, those children do not currently receive the bene-

fits that this appropriation seeks to provide.

HSD further notes that low-income children typically receive little if any dental care. As a result,

it is likely that a significant number of the screened population will need future dental services.

Sealants have been shown to be an effective preventative measure. The use of sealants will re-

duce future dental decay on chewing surfaces of permanent molar teeth.

According to the Department of Health, the number one leading cause of missed school days for

children is pain from tooth decay and dental caries. New Mexico has a shortage of oral health

professionals which greatly impacts the oral health status of children. Children who reside in ru-

ral parts of the state are at a higher risk for untreated tooth decay due to lack of providers and/or

inability to travel to urban areas to receive care due to travel distances.

DOH notes that the Office of Dental Health (ODH) acts as a safety net provider, providing seal-

ants to children in grades 2 & 3 who meet the same criteria, and served 3,447 children in fiscal

year 2005. This bill would increase access to dental screening services through contractual ar-

rangements with the ODH.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

DOH notes that this appropriation

would support DOH Strategic Plan, Objective 11: Improve

access to preventive and restorative oral health services to children.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

According to DOH, funding for this appropriation would be distributed through contractual ar-

rangements utilizing current staffing.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

As noted above, according to HSD, the population this appropriation would benefit technically

does not exist.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

HSD further notes that

the bill does not require DOH or the contracted nonprofit school-based

portable dental program to assist or advise parents or guardians about how to obtain any needed

dental services that are identified in the screening process.

House Bill 447 – Page

3

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

DOH notes that additional funds will not be available for a nonprofit school-based portable den-

tal program to provide dental screening examinations and dental sealants to uninsured low-

income children.

AMENDMENTS

To solve the technical eligibility issue noted above, reword to read, “…to uninsured low-income

children who are eligible for the free or reduced-price school lunch program in rural school dis-

tricts, but who do not receive Medicaid benefits.”

HSD suggests an amendment on Page 1, Line 23 after “districts” – insert “The nonprofit organi-

zation shall provide assistance to the parents or legal guardian of a screened child to help the

parent or legal guardian identify locations for free or reduced cost dental services to treat any

dental problems identified during the dental screening examination.”

ML/mt