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Gov. Inslee signs bill to expand dental health care on reservations

Erin Fenner   February 23, 2017  

Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law Wednesday that could open up access to dental health care on reservations.

Tribal communities have had little to no access to dental health care. But under the bill, SB 5079, dental therapists on reservations can have access to federal funding.

In a Feb. 10 article for the Tacoma News Tribune, Walker Orestein explains the issue:

“Though dental therapists aren’t legal in the state, tribes — as sovereign nations — can allow them to operate.

But a federal measure says states must approve dental therapists for tribes to pay for their services through Medicaid, a government health care program for low-income people.

That approval has run into a roadblock over the years. The concept of dental therapists is opposed by the powerful dentist lobby, the Washington State Dental Association.

But the organization didn’t oppose this bill, in part to make peace with tribes who have been fighting for the legislation.

With fewer critics, the bill sailed through the Democrat-majority House on an 80-18 vote Thursday after getting unanimous approval in the GOP-led Senate.”

At the bill signing Wednesday, Sen. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, who sponsored the bill, said he was excited to see its passage after more than a decade of work on the issue.

“It just adds to the adage down here that the impossible takes a little longer,” he said.

The new law will make communities healthier and help the economy, McCoy said.

“This will help all tribes in rural Washington,” he said. “This does mean jobs for rural Washington.”

Inslee highlighted that dental care is a critical component of health care, and that extending this health care service to reservations will mean fewer emergency room visits, fewer infections and overall fewer health complications.

“I love the fact that we’re going to bring federal dollars to our state for tribal health care,” he said.

Erin Fenner: erin@washingtonstatewire.com, @erinfenner

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