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Dental practices that have been harmed or disadvantaged by the COVID-19 pandemic will find support through CDA-sponsored or supported bills signed into law in recent weeks by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Altogether, the governor signed 14 bills that help dentists practice better and expand access to oral health care.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 8 signed into law CDA-sponsored legislation that allows California-licensed dentists to apply for the requisite laboratory licensure to administer rapid COVID-19 tests in the dental office. The new law also gives dentists permanent authority to administer FDA-approved or FDA-authorized COVID-19 and flu vaccines.

A bill imposing a sales tax on e-cigarettes sold in California was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom and will take effect July 1, 2022. The new tax will provide ongoing funding for the CalHealthCares Student Loan Repayment Grant and other education and health care programs in the state.

A significant amount of activity is underway in the U.S. Congress focused on adding dental, vision and hearing benefits to the Medicare program, and the proposals are moving quickly. This communication from CDA supplements what the ADA, media and other sources have shared to give members background and context for the current activity and clarify some common misunderstandings.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 8 signed CDA-sponsored legislation that gives California dentists permanent authority to provide influenza and COVID-19 vaccines and obtain the required state registration to process rapid COVID-19 tests in the dental office.

Student loan borrowers in California have new protections against lenders’ and servicers’ unfair, deceptive and predatory practices under the state’s new Student Borrower Bill of Rights. 
 

The California Department of Health Care Services has awarded $69.4 million toward student loan repayments for 249 physicians and 41 dentists to expand health care access for Medi-Cal patients.

The California public health order of July 26 requires all health care workers in the state to either show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or be tested regularly. CDA is seeking guidance from the state on outstanding questions, particularly about how the weekly testing requirements for unvaccinated individuals must be implemented.

The Department of Consumer Affairs on July 26 issued a waiver that gives all California-licensed dental professionals whose active licenses expire between March 31, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, until Jan. 26, 2022, to meet license renewal requirements.