Report details stimulus money for dental professionals

Aug 31, 2009

U.S. dentists and hygienists could benefit from millions of dollars disbursed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to a brief report from the California HealthCare Foundation.

The report, which focuses mainly on California dentists, lists electronic health record adoption, education, public health, community clinics, and research as areas that may get a boost from the stimulus package.

Dentists and hygienists are eligible for up to $50,000 each in exchange for working in a health professional shortage area through the National Health Service Corps, which got a $200 million boost under the act, according to the report. The application period began June 5, 2009, and will end September 30, 2010, or when all funds are spent.

The stimulus also includes scholarship money for dental students. The 2009 application period has ended, but additional money will become available in spring when applications for the 2010-2011 school year are submitted, the report states. Some funds will go directly to universities.

The stimulus bill also puts a moratorium on a federal regulation that would have limited dental services at hospital outpatient departments through Medicaid, according to the report.

If dentists could qualify, they could get up to $63,750 each to digitalize their patients' charts -- but it's not clear yet whether any dentists will qualify. The problem is that they must use certified software, and the government doesn't have a certification program for dental health records.

It's unclear "whether and how" the government will address this problem, though initial standards are expected by the end of 2009, according to the report.

Those few dentists who bill Medicare (for example, for some types of imaging) may actually be penalized with a reduction in reimbursements if they do not adopt electronic health records, the report states.