Sept. 16, 2012

Dr. Satcher Warns States to Expand Access to Dental Care for Poor Children
By Dr. David Satcher

Dr. David Satcher

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from America's Wire 

ATLANTA (TriceEdneyWire.com) - As states wrangle with whether or not to pursue Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, they should look carefully at the serious implications for oral health, especially for poor and minority children if Medicaid services are not expanded as originally envisioned under the ACA.

Twelve years ago, as Surgeon General of the United States, I issued a report calling attention to the profound disparities in oral health care across the country. I called it a silent epidemic. Twelve years later, some progress has been made, and it is no longer silent - but for many across the country, it is still a serious epidemic causing pain and harm to millions of poor and minority children. For instance, data from Georgia exemplifies the challenges that poor and minority children face in getting access to appropriate dental care.

In 2008, 15.9 percent of Georgians did not have health insurance and almost half - 41.5 percent - did not have dental insurance (Georgia Population Survey 2008). In 2007, visits to Georgia emergency rooms for preventable dental disease cost more than $23 million. The proportion of children with untreated tooth decay has dropped from 27 percent in 2005 to 19% in 2011, but that still means that close to a fifth of our state's children suffer unnecessary pain and health risks for something that is truly preventable. The majority of these children are poor or minority or can't see a dentist because of financial or geographic reasons.

When I issued my report, tooth decay was the single most common chronic childhood disease - five times more common than asthma. It still is. There were striking disparities in dental disease across the country. There still are. Thirty-seven percent of African American children and 41 percent of Hispanic children have untreated tooth decay, compared with 25 percent of white children. More than 50 million Americans live in areas where dentists do not practice and millions more can't gain access due to cost reasons.

It is time to get serious and pursue the framework for action that I set forth in my 2000 report. All health care professionals need to understand that good oral health means more than sound teeth. The mouth is really a window to the whole body. Oral health affects everything from the ability to speak, eat or smile. Poor oral health is linked to heart disease, stroke and other long-term illnesses. We need to engage other health professions in working to prevent oral disease.

As a country, we have made great strides in prevention, particularly with fluoride and sealants. But many do not have regular access to a dentist or school-based programs that offer some preventive care. That is why it is critical to expand access by seeking innovation on a number of fronts: in oral health policies, how we train our providers, exploring the creation of new dental providers, and building a cadre of ethnically-diverse, culturally-competent dental practitioners, as well as expanding the reach of the dental team with other health care professionals.

The country has a great opportunity to increase access to dental care under the ACA, which calls for extending oral health benefits to an additional five million children in 2014. Expansion of coverage, however, won't translate into access to care if we don't have enough providers to meet the need. Currently just 20 percent of practicing dentists treat Medicaid patients. How can we provide services to an additional five million children in 2014?

States need to think about this now. States should explore all options that could expand access to care, including allowing midlevel dental providers such as dental therapists to practice. They are trained to provide routine services, freeing up dentists to attend to more complicated procedures. These practitioners already work in Alaska and Minnesota. And in just a number of years, they have been able to expand access in Alaska alone to an additional 35,000 people who could not get regular care in their own communities.

It is imperative that everyone have access to the dental care they need. Different professionals can provide different, yet appropriate, levels of service. Our concern and approach to a solution ought to focus first on the patient, not the dental profession. We have an opportunity with the ACA to expand access. Will the medical and dental communities be ready?

.America's Wire is an independent, nonprofit news service run by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Our stories can be republished free of charge by newspapers, websites and other media sources. For more information, visit www.americaswire.org or contact Michael K. Frisby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

Sept. 16, 2012

Douglass Statue Bill Clears Congress, Sent to Obama

Sept. 16, 2012

Michelle Obama Goes Solo at the CBCF Phoenix Awards Dinner
By Hazel Trice Edney

WASHINGTON (TriceEdneyWire.com) – For the first time during the administration of President Barack Obama he will not keynote the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Phoenix Awards Dinner this Saturday, closing out the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference (CBC-ALC). Instead it will be First Lady Michelle Obama going solo before the audience of approximately 3,000 guests.

Mrs. Obama, still basking in accolades for her speech at the Democratic National Convention, will deliver the keynote address at the gala, held annually at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at the conclusion of the Foundation’s 42nd Annual Legislative Conference (ALC).

“We are so pleased that Mrs. Obama will serve as the keynote speaker for the awards dinner,” said Elsie L. Scott, president and chief executive officer for CBCF in a statement.  "As a former CBC Spouse, Mrs. Obama is quite familiar with our mission at the Foundation and we are certain that her remarks will be both thought-provoking, and most importantly, inspire our audience to do their part to prepare the next generation of leaders.”

Mrs. Obama was involved with the CBC Spouses group when husband served in the U. S. Senate. Since his election as President, she has accompanied him every year to speak at the dinner.  He is now heavily engaged on the campaign trail as he makes a bid for four more years in the White House.

Notably, last year the President gave a speech at the dinner that some perceived as a chiding to the CBC. The speech came after a series of summer job fairs held around the country by the CBC during which CBC members had become very vocal about the high unemployment rate in the Black community. His dinner speech appealed for the legislators to “Pass the jobs bill,” but the President went a step further: “I expect all of you to march with me and press on. Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC,” he concluded.

The audience responded with rousing applause and standing ovation, but not without some criticism. U. S. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) was quoted in the Florida Courier as saying the President’s language toward the CBC was “curious.”

Reporting on her interview on “Meet the Press”, the Courier quoted Waters as saying, “I’m not sure who the president was addressing…(he) spoke to the Hispanic Caucus…he certainly didn’t tell them to stop complaining about immigration. He never would say that to the gay and lesbian community who really pushed him on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.” Even in a speech to AIPIC (the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee), he would never say to the Jewish community, “Stop complaining about Israel.”

A year later, Democrats - Black and White - appear to have set aside all quarrels, uniting to assure maximum participation  by African-American voters. At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, CBC members showed up in full force and Chairman Emmanuel Cleaver delivered compelling remarks directed to the President, pressing him to “Hope on!”

This Saturday’s dinner will be yet another chance to rally the troops as the dinner will no doubt pack in thousands at the close of the four-day series of issues forums and brain trusts by day and parties, receptions and networking by night. The Caucus, themed “Inspiring Leaders, Building Generations”, takes place Sept. 19-22.

Though the annual dinner is widely seen as the staple event, the National Town Hall meeting also draws thousands. This year’s town hall will focus on Voting Rights and New Age Discrimination.  Information on all events, including the Annual Prayer Breakfast, which will feature keynote speaker Bishop Noel Jones, can be found at www.cbcinc.org.

The four Phoenix Awards recipients this year are:

• U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. will receive The CBCF Chair's Award for “an individual whose work and accomplishments stand as a role model for the African-American community and the African Diaspora.”

• Writer, director George Lucas will also receive The CBC Chair's Award for “an individual who exhibits the highest standards of dedication, ability and creativity.”

• U. S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) and Charlotte’s first Black Mayor Harvey Gantt will each receive The Harold Washington Award for individuals who have “contributed immeasurably to African-American political awareness, empowerment and the advancement of minorities in the electoral process.”

Phoenix award recipients in past years have included Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson; Athlete, Entrepreneur and Humanitarian George Edward Foreman, Sr.; civil rights activist the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery; and civil rights activist U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga).  A release describes the Phoenix Award as symbolizing “the immortality of the human spirit and an eternal desire to reach its full potential.”

Sept. 16, 2012