Regardless of which candidate you support, the upcoming election is likely to have a major impact on the future of the dental industry. Before the nation’s economic crisis grabbed all the headlines, healthcare reform was one of the campaign’s biggest issues, and both topics are likely to receive attention from the next president. The candidates have put forward drastically different visions of how to reform the nation’s economy, taxes and healthcare, and either plan would have a major impact on dental practices across the country.

The Obama healthcare proposal calls for income-based subsidies for uninsured individuals who would be able to buy into any of the various plans offered to federal employees or those available in the private sector. The subsidies would be partially funded by a fee assessed on businesses that do not provide healthcare benefits for their employees, but small businesses would also be given a 50% tax credit on the costs of providing healthcare to their employees. His tax plan calls for cuts for people and businesses earning less than $250,000 per year and tax increases for those earning more.

“We know healthcare is broken in this country, and both candidates know it’s broken and America will be looking for the next administration to do something,” says Jeff Album, director of public affairs for Delta Dental of California. “Something will be done and it’s going to be vital for the dental industry that people who are experts and understand what’s happening in dental care and the delivery of dental care to be involved in the process.”

In both plans there could be a great increase in the number of Americans looking into purchasing healthcare on the open market. Dental industry advocates such as Oral Health America President and CEO Beth Truett are focused on increasing access to dental care, and they are concerned that not enough people are aware of the link between oral health and overall health, and might forego any dental coverage.

“If people need to go out and search for their own oral healthcare insurance as they would for their general healthcare, that is going to present a challenge,” she says.

The dental insurance industry sees the situation in even more dire terms. Album agrees that access to dental care is a big issue going forward because improved access will lead to increased use of dental services. He worries that fewer people with dental coverage will mean fewer Americans will pursue preventive services, and the nation’s oral and overall health could suffer.

“The surest way to ruin the current level of access to dental care for the 170 million Americans who do have coverage would be to eliminate the tax deduction that employers receive when they do provide coverage,” he says. “If our goal is to improve oral health in this country, or at least do no harm, we cannot allow the elimination of a tax benefit that is working to deliver health benefits to so many people.”

That may sound like he believes Obama’s plan would be better for the dental industry, but Album says he and the insurance side of the industry have concerns about that plan as well. Increasing the number of Americans with insurance too quickly could hurt access to care because there won’t be enough dentists and hygienists to provide that care. There also are concerns over how funding for the plan will impact the nation’s financial health.

“We of course support expansion of healthcare benefits, but if the price tag hurts the economy, no one wins,” Album says.

Getting heard

Truett says making more people aware about the importance of oral health—especially for children—can bring some attention to a discussion of where dental coverage should fit in the larger healthcare debate. For Album, educating lawmakers about the difference between medical and dental care could help raise the profile of the dental industry’s concerns.

Raising the industry’s voice now while healthcare reform is still a top priority for Americans and politicians might also provide some long-term benefits. The industry might not get its concerns addressed by the next president’s plan, but if it speaks up now, it might earn itself a permanent seat at future discussions on the nation’s health.

“We can hope that four or eight years from now that oral health won’t be just subsumed in the conversation about general health care and will be addressed specifically by our candidates,” Truett says.