On
Sept. 28, the President signed an Appropriations funding bill which includes the
Department of Defense, the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
Appropriations bills for FY 2019, as well as a short-term Continuing Resolution
to temporarily fund remaining government programs until Dec. 7. The legislation
is now enacted into law. This bill increases funding for biomedical research at
the National Institutes of Health, expands opioid abuse treatment and
prevention programs, and provides new initiatives for maternal and child
health.
Dental
education fared well, with increases to many of our key programs. The National
Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research received $461.7 million, a $14
million increase over last fiscal year, and the Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) Oral Health Programs received $40.6 million. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention,
Division of Oral Health received $19 million.
HRSA
funding is critical to dental education as they fund several oral health
workforce development programs, including:
- Dental
Faculty Development and Loan Repayment Program
- Dental
Faculty Loan Repayment Program
- State
Grants to Support Oral Health Workforce Activities in Dental Health
Professional Shortage Areas
- Postdoctoral
Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry
- Predoctoral
Pediatric Training in General Dentistry and Dental Hygiene
- Predoctoral
Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene
- Primary
Care Medicine and Dentistry Career Development