Immediate Release
June 12, 2025
Contact: Connor Lounsbury, connor_lounsbury@alsobrooks.senate.gov
WASHINGTON, DC – As reported in the Baltimore Sun, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) introduced the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act. This introduction was part of an effort today by over a dozen Senate Democrats to release legislative proposals to strengthen and invest in Medicaid.
Senator Alsobrooks released the following statement on the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act:
“This legislation is very personal to me and to our state. 18 years ago, a young Marylander named Deamonte Driver died of complications from a tooth infection because his family was kicked off of Medicaid and could not afford the care they needed. He was only 12-years-old. Senator Cardin worked tirelessly throughout his career to make sure that no child should ever suffer Deamonte’s fate.
“Every child, every family, deserves access to quality, affordable dental care. Access is literally a matter of life and death. This bill builds upon Senator Cardin’s work and continues to expand and strengthen Medicaid dental, hearing, and vision coverage. While Republicans seem hellbent on kicking as many people off their health insurance as possible, we will fight tooth and nail to expand coverage and to ensure that every American, every child in particular, has access to the care they need.”
The bill is part of a larger package introduced by Senate Democrats today that offer a clear contrast to the callous and cruel reconciliation bill being foisted upon Americans by Donald Trump.
Specifically, the bill would:
- Amend the Social Security Act to include Medicare coverage for routine cleanings, exams, fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, emergency care, hearing aids, eye exams, and more, phased in gradually to 80% coverage.
- Encourage states to provide their optional dental, hearing, and vision services to people with Medicaid by increasing the associated Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) rate to 90 percent.
This legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
Summaries of the other bills introduced today are below:
- Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act (Senator Alsobrooks)
- Requires Medicaid and Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing.
- Keeping Obstetrics Local Act (Senators Wyden and Hassan)
- Addresses hospital labor and delivery unit closures by increasing Medicaid payments for eligible rural and high-need hospitals.
- Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) Act (Senator Cortez Masto)
- Addresses funding shortfalls and ensures long-term stability of health care fraud, waste and abuse prevention work at HHS, CMS and DOJ, which returns $11 for every $1 invested.
- Stabilize Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Act (Senator Whitehouse)
- Provides continuous eligibility for all individuals enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for 12-months.
- HCBS Relief Act (Senator Lujan)
- Temporarily increases the federal Medicaid match for home- and community-based services by ten percentage points for two years.
- Advancing Student Services in Schools Today (ASSIST) Act (Senator Warnock)
- Increases the federal Medicaid match for mental health and substance use disorder services provided in schools to 90%.
- Expanded Coverage for Former Foster Youth Act (Senator Welch)
- Expands Medicaid coverage for certain former foster care youth up to the age of 26.
- Easy Enrollment in Health Care Act (Senator Van Hollen)
- Allows individuals to check eligibility for and enroll in Medicaid or subsidized Affordable Care Act coverage through submitting their federal tax return.
- Disaster Relief Medicaid Act (Senator Blumenthal)
- Ensures that individuals eligible for Medicaid who are forced to relocate due to a disaster are able to continue accessing Medicaid-supported services.
- Maximizing Opioid Recovery Emergency (Senator Blumenthal)
- Enhances coverage for opioid treatment for Medicaid, Medicare, and private health plan enrollees, including increasing the federal Medicaid match for opioid medication treatment to 90%.
- Helping Tobacco Users Quit Act (Senator Blunt Rochester)
- Requires state Medicaid programs to cover tobacco cessation services without cost-sharing.
- State Public Option Act (Senator Schatz)
- Gives states the option to create a Medicaid buy-in program for state residents regardless of their income.
- Postpartum Lifeline Act (Senator Gallego)
- Requires state Medicaid programs to provide coverage up to 12-months postpartum.
Read the full text of the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act here.
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