Relates to requirements for licensure as a dentist

• Democratic3

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Toby Ann Stavisky says this is needed

According to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), New York State currently has 161 dental Health Practitioner Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 117 designated HPSA facilities and 44 designated HPSA population groups (mostly Medicaid eligible popula- tions).(1) As a result, NYS currently meets only 16.15% of the docu- mented need, leading HRSA to estimate that New York needs an additional 588 dentists.(2) Despite these challenges, current Department of Educa- tion regulations require all dentists who have graduated dental school to complete a one-year graduate residency program before they can become licensed in New York. This requirement applies to both new and experi- enced dentists, meaning that even dentists with years of practice expe- rience in another jurisdiction must currently complete a graduate resi- dency program before qualifying to practice here. New York's residency mandate, which is an outlier among other states, represents yet another barrier to attracting dentists to practice in high need areas in New York State. In fact, despite annually graduating among the highest number of dentists in the country, New York continues to struggle to meet the needs of low-income, rural and developmentally disabled patients. In addition to the residency mandate, other barriers include a net annual out-migration of New York dentists,(3) a decline in CODA*-accredited dental residency programs(4) (which have traditionally served as a reliable resource for services to Medicaid recipients), too few dentists practicing in rural and high need areas,(5) the exorbitant costs of attending dental school6 and establishing a dental practice, perennially insufficient Medicaid reimbursement rates, and a wave of dentist retirements in the wake of the pandemic. This bill offers an immediate boost to access to quality services by offering certain dentists a five-year track to becoming licensed in New York. Qualified dentists who have trained outside of the United States, but who are not eligible to apply for licensure by endorsement, may opt to join the full-time faculty of a dental school or to complete a preceptorship in a hospital or clinic setting in a dental HPSA for a five-year period rather than complete a graduate residency program. Upon completion of the five-year period of supervised practice, such dentists will be deemed eligible to apply directly for New York State licensure. By offering this alternative pathway to licensure, New York's ability to attract qualified dentists will demonstrably improve.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.