05 LC 22
5888
House
Resolution 489
By:
Representatives Jackson of the
161st,
Stephens of the
164th,
Mitchell of the
88th,
Bordeaux of the
162nd,
Day of the
163rd,
and others
A
RESOLUTION
Creating
the House Study Committee on
Georgiás
Oral Health; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
prevention and education are two key factors essential to minimize or eliminate
dental diseases, but regular dental visits are not available to all Georgians,
fluoridated water is not available in all areas of the state, and the state does
not provide oral health education to families of newborns; and
WHEREAS,
prevention has long been the cornerstone of dentistry, and every dollar spent on
prevention saves an estimated $80.00 to $120.00 on future expenses;
and
WHEREAS,
problems with access to dental care traverse economic, geographic, and
ethnographic lines, and persons from low-income families, persons with
disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities are particularly affected by oral
health problems; and
WHEREAS,
Medicaid reimbursement rates are often so low that they fail to cover the
dentist́s
overhead costs for providing care, and administrative processes are so
cumbersome that they tend to discourage provider participation; and
WHEREAS,
patients with dental insurance are being required to pay a greater share of
costs for dental care; and
WHEREAS,
economic factors, including overhead costs, student loan debt, and the lack of
service cancelable loan programs and rural community incentive programs,
discourage dentists from practicing in some inner city and rural areas;
and
WHEREAS,
dental schools are feeling the effects of budget constraints, and are finding it
difficult to recruit and retain qualified faculty members; and
WHEREAS,
proponents of recent changes adopted for
Georgiás
PeachCare program have asserted that PeachCare will now resemble a dental
program in Texas, but both providers and recipients of dental care through
PeachCare have many questions regarding the effects of the changes.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that there is created
the House Study Committee on
Georgiás
Oral Health to be composed of five members to be appointed by the Speaker of
the House of Representatives. Three members shall be members of the House of
Representatives, and the Speaker shall appoint one member from the Georgia
Dental Society and one member from the Georgia Dental Association. The Speaker
shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee. The
chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the
conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and
recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or
appropriate. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such
times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and
effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and
purposes of this resolution. The legislative members of the committee shall
receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code
of Georgia Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be
received by any member of the committee for more than four days unless
additional days are authorized. The funds necessary to carry out the provisions
of this resolution shall come from the funds appropriated to the House of
Representatives. In the event the committee makes a report of its findings and
recommendations, with suggestions for proposed legislation, if any, such report
shall be made on or before December 1, 2005. The committee shall stand
abolished on December 1, 2005.