BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 648


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          Date of Hearing:  April 15, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          648 (Low) - As Introduced February 24, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill appropriates $4 million to the Department of Public  
          Health (DPH) to establish the Virtual Dental Home (VDH) program,  
          and specifies administrative requirements and program goals.









                                                                     AB 648


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          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)$4 million GF to DPH to establish the program. DPH would scale  
            the effort, including number of sites, individuals trained,  
            and individuals served, to the available funding.  The bill's  
            supporters, who are familiar with the VDH model, project the  
            funding could be used to support training and equipment in 20  
            communities over a three-year grant period. 


          2)To the extent this model is successful in promoting access to  
            preventive and diagnostic dental services and more children  
            are able to receive such services through its widespread  
            adoption, there could be commensurate cost pressure on  
            Medi-Cal dental services to reimburse for additional services  
            (GF/federal funds).  However, any increased costs would likely  
            be offset to some extent by reductions in emergency dental  
            procedures or complications from untreated dental disease.   
            The magnitude and likelihood of such costs or savings is  
            unknown.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. The author states VDH has the potential to become a  
            sustainable and scalable model for dental care delivery, but  
            needs an upfront investment in training, equipment, technical  
            assistance, and other support to develop the critical mass  
            needed to spread statewide and truly be integrated into  
            California's dental delivery system.  The bill is co-sponsored  
            by the California Dental Association and The Children's  
            Partnership.



          2)Background. VDH is a community-based oral health delivery  








                                                                     AB 648


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            system in which people receive preventive and simple  
            therapeutic services in community settings. It uses telehealth  
            technology to link dental hygienists and dental assistants in  
            the community with dentists in dental offices and clinics,  
            enabling care in places like Head Start sites and schools. VDH  
            was developed and evaluated through the state Office of  
            Statewide Health Planning and Development's Health Workforce  
            Pilot Program (HWPP#172).  AB 1174 (Bocanegra), Chapter 662,  
            Statutes of 2014, provided a statutory framework for VDH and  
            authorized scope of practice changes, as well as Medi-Cal  
            reimbursement for VDH-provided services.  
          


          Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081