Dr. Stephen Corbin Testifies In Front of U.S. House of Representatives on Improving Access to Dental Care for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
On Tuesday, March 27, Special Olympics Senior Vice President of Constituent Services and Support, Dr. Stephen Corbin joined representatives from Children's Dental Health Project, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Dental Association, National Governors Association, Michigan Department of Community Health, University of Mississippi School of Dentistry, American Dental Education Association, and the American Association for Dental Research to testify in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health on the subject “Insuring Bright Futures: Improving Access to Dental Care and Providing a Healthy Start for Children.” Led by Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), the hearing targeted improving access to dental care and was initiated as a result of the tragic death of a 12-year-old Maryland boy, Deamonte Driver, in February from complications due to untreated dental decay. Dr. Corbin and Exceptional Parent Editor-in-Chief Dr. Rick Radar issued an op-ed in response to Deamonte's death earlier this month
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Dr. Stephen Corbin testifies on behalf of Special Olympics about the importance of oral health care for people with intellectual disabilities to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health. |
According to Representative Pallone, the previous Congress “overlooked” critical children's health issues; the hearing was one small step at addressing the problem. He said, “I truly believe that we are seeing a crisis when it comes to dental care for kids. But poor oral health is just the tip of the iceberg. It certainly is not the only health problem afflicting our nation's children.”
Dr. Corbin's passionate testimony heightened the panel's awareness about the intellectual disability community as an at-risk population also impacted by poor access to dental care which doesn't typically garner a lot of attention. Specifically, Dr. Corbin stressed how extra efforts are needed, including training of clinical providers and enhanced reimbursement provisions that reflect the additional time that is sometimes required in patient management and treatment for special high risk populations, such as people with developmental disabilities. He further questioned why the developmental disabilities population is not considered a “medically underserved” group by the federal government and that children with intellectual disabilities who are fortunate to receive care under Medicaid or SCHIP, all of a sudden get pushed out of the system or “age out” - after years worth of investment of public resources in their care even though their disability condition is permanent. Getting resolution to these questions is critical to improving oral health care access for people with intellectual disabilities.
To review Dr. Corbin's full testimony, click here. [PDF 110K]
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