HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	23
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the governor and the director of human services to add $4,000,000 to fund adult dental services to the executive SUPPLEMENTAL budget for the 2019 fiscal year.

WHEREAS, funding for adult dental services through the Department of Human Services Med-Quest Division ended in 2015; and

WHEREAS, individuals who are under twenty-one years old are Medicaid-eligible for endodontic therapy, periodontics therapy, restorations, oral surgery, and prosthodontic services but those who are twenty-one and over are only Medicaid-eligible for emergency services to eliminate dental pain, dental infection, and acute injuries; and

WHEREAS, there is a need for routine adult dental services to continue; and

WHEREAS, while one in five older Americans have untreated tooth decay and more than forty per cent of seniors have periodontal disease, an estimated seventy per cent of seniors lack or have limited dental insurance according to Pew Charitable Trusts; and

WHEREAS, the lack of Med-QUEST coverage for routine adult dental care has led to poor adults in Hawaii foregoing dental treatment such as treatment for gum disease and root canals, leading to a rise in working-age adults seeking dental care in hospital emergency rooms; and

WHEREAS, it is more cost-effective to treat dental problems in a dental office with a participating dentist rather than in the emergency room; and

WHEREAS, research shows that oral bacteria may lead to respiratory infections, be associated with dementia, and put people at risk for cardiovascular disease and various other illnesses; and

WHEREAS, oral bacteria may access the bloodstream through sores in damaged gums, which may affect the heart or brain and lead to life-threatening infections and death; and

WHEREAS, at a 2014 legislative hearing, the Department of Human Services Med-QUEST Division estimated that it would cost $4,000,000 to fund adult dental services; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that the Governor and the Director of Human Services are urged to add $4,000,000 to fund adult dental services to the Executive Supplemental Budget for the 2019 Fiscal Year; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Human Services, and Director of Finance.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

URGING THE GOVERNOR AND THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN SERVICES TO ADD $4,000,000 TO FUND ADULT DENTAL SERVICES TO THE EXECUTIVE SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET FOR THE 2019 FISCAL YEAR