Washington Leadership Conference

Hi there,

As I mentioned in my last post, I have spent the last week in Washington, D.C. attending the Washington Leadership Conference with the American Dental Association. I was one of four Iowa delegates that visited with the nation's representatives and senators about the current legislative issues that affect dentistry for the coming year. We had private meetings with each of the five Iowa representatives and the two senators, as well as additional meetings with their staff.

We had three main bills that the American Dental Association was supporting. One is called “Breaking Barriers to Oral Health Act of 2011”, the purpose of which is to empower state-based entities to break the barriers to improved essential oral health care for lower-income individuals. Most Americans have access to the best oral health care in the world and, as a result, enjoy excellent oral health. But tens of millions still do not, owing to such barriers as poverty, geography, lack of oral health education, language or cultural barriers, fear of dental care and the belief that people who are not in pain do not need dental care. This bill creates two grant programs in which states and state dental associations compete for limited federal dollars in order to create or fund programs that directly deal with these barriers. Essentially, it provides funds for those who are closest to the problem that can do the most good.

Second, we were supporting “The Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2011”, which seeks to repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act exemption for insurance companies. Currently, only railroads, unions, baseball, and insurance companies have exemptions from federal antitrust legislation, which means that insurance companies are allowed to collude together to set prices. This bill would eliminate the special treatment that the insurance industry has enjoyed for 65 years, and bring the industry into line with virtually every other American business sector. This bill actually passed overwhelming in the House last year (406 – 19) but died in Committee in the Senate. Hopefully this year will be the year this exemption is finally repealed.

Third was the “Patients’ Freedom to Choose Act”. This seeks to repeal the annual cap on Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) that reduces consumers’ access to health care. The recent Healthcare Reform Act reduced the cap from $5,000 to $2,500. If out of pocket costs for traditional medical insurance exceeds the new annual limit, consumers will be faced with hard decisions about the affordability of additional health care costs like vision and dental care. Hundreds of thousands of Americans rely on medical FSAs to cover these rising out of pocket health care costs. While the bill does not place a limit on FSAs, the cap will likely be placed at the historical $5,000 rate in Committee.

As I mentioned, the Iowa delegation (IDA Executive Director Larry Carl, IDA President Dr. David Davidson, IDA President-Elect Dr. Dan Kegler, and me, the Goodwill Ambassador to the IDA) were able to talk about all of these issues, in addition to specific Iowa issues like the Iowa Mission of Mercy, with all 5 Iowa representatives and both senators. All of our Iowa Congressmen were aware of the importance of dentistry in our state and nation and were very receptive to our message. I believe that we were very successful and I will be anxious to see these bills go through the legislative process.


The Iowa delegates with Senator Grassley. Grassley is such a professional and has a very firm grasp of the issues that affect dentistry in our state and nation.


The Iowa delegation with Senator Harkin. The Senator was responsible for procuring an earmark that really helped the Iowa Mission of Mercy obtain equipment last year. Thank you, Senator!


With Representative Boswell. He was so easy to talk with!


With Representative Braley. He has a great personality! For this photograph, he bent down and I stood on my tippie-toes so that I didn't look so short.


With Representative Loebsack. As a registered Johnson County voter, Representative Loebsack is actually my representative in Congress.


With Representative Latham. He has been a supporter of the Iowa Mission of Mercy since its conception.


I was very impressed with Representative King. He actually sat with us for 30 minutes to talk frankly and openly about the issues. It was easy to open up with him and have a serious conversation about the state of dentistry and our nation.


Taking a moment in between meetings to prepare.

In addition, the entire Washington Leadership Conference heard from specific friends of dentistry from the House of Representatives and several other industry leaders. They discussed current legislative issues and the role of dentistry in our modern society. We also heard predictions for healthcare in the upcoming years, a concept that is constantly evolving, especially with the passage of the Healthcare Reform Act this past year. The Conference was fascinating and it was such an honor to have been invited to join the Iowa Delegation.


With Representative Paul Gosar from Arizona. Dr. Gosar is a newly elected dentist in Congress and was the keynote speaker for our conference.


With Representative Phil Gingrey from Georgia. Dr. Gingrey is the Co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus and one of the speakers for our conference.


Representative Darrell Issa of California, the Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.


With Steny Hoyer, the House Democratic Whip.


With Representative Allen West of Florida. He is considered one of the new leaders of the TEA-Party movement.


My dad and I with Dr. Howard Koh, the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services. He was also one of our speakers.


With Frank Luntz, PhD, who is a New York Times Bestselling Author and Fox News Contributor. He is considered the nation's leading pollster and was fascinating to listen to. Like me, he comes from a dental family.

I was also able to meet many of the past and present leaders of the American Dental Association. I came away with dozens of contacts and new friends who are willing and excited to help me promote dentistry in Iowa and across our nation.


With Dr. Matthew Neary, the Chair on the Council on Government Affairs for the American Dental Association.


WithDr. Raymond Gist, the President of the American Dental Association.

After the conclusion of the conference, my mom, dad, and I enjoyed a couple of extra days in Washington, D.C. We toured the Capital with a member of Senator Gassley’s staff, visited the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court building, Arlington Cemetery, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the various memorials, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the National Archives, and several other sites. I hadn’t been to D.C. since I was five years old, so it was wonderful to experience our nation’s capital while I can appreciate it. In addition, meeting several legislators and witnessing proceeding in the House and Senate was especially fascinating after having taking The Legislative Process last semester at the University of Iowa. I will be sad to leave D.C., but I have had so many wonderful experiences that will further my life and especially help further my platform of “Making Smiles Happen: Children’s Dental Health Advocacy”.


I met soldiers from all over the world! From left: U.S., Argentina, India, Italy, Philippines, Nigeria, and Afghanistan. Doesn't have much to do with my platform, but I thought this was too cool to not include.