Lawmakers Introduce Three Bills to Expand Dental Coverage in Public Programs

Posted: July 24, 2026

Lawmakers Introduce Three Bills to Expand Dental Coverage in Public Programs

Edited by Dentaltown staff

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., introduced three bills July 22 that would expand dental coverage across the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, and Medicare.

The Ensuring Kids Have Access to Medically Necessary Dental Care Act would bar annual and lifetime dollar limits on CHIP dental benefits and require wraparound dental coverage in states where it is currently optional.

The Medicaid Dental Benefit Act of 2026 would make adult dental care a mandatory Medicaid benefit rather than a state-by-state option. The bill defines covered services to include preventive and restorative care, treatment for pain and dental emergencies, dentures, and implants, and it sets a 100% federal match for the first 12 quarters. The posted draft still carries a placeholder for its effective year, a marker that the text remains preliminary.

The Medicare Dental Benefit Act of 2026 would add routine, basic, major, and emergency dental services to Medicare Part B, which does not currently include most dental care.

All three measures are newly introduced proposals, not enacted coverage changes, and each was referred to committee. The Medicaid bill is the most far-reaching, because adult dental coverage now varies widely by state, while a Medicare dental benefit would affect participation, fee schedules, and treatment demand among older adults.

The American Dental Association endorsed the bills, along with the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and other dental organizations. Alsobrooks said access to dental care “is literally a matter of life and death,” citing the 2007 death of a Maryland child from an untreated tooth infection.

Sources:
Office of U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, “Alsobrooks, Barragán Introduce Three Bills to Close Gaps in Dental Coverage,” July 22, 2026: alsobrooks.senate.gov/news/three-bills-dental-coverage
Ensuring Kids Have Access to Medically Necessary Dental Care Act, bill text: alsobrooks.senate.gov/…/LAN26357.pdf
Medicaid Dental Benefit Act of 2026, bill text: alsobrooks.senate.gov/…/LAN26294.pdf
Medicare Dental Benefit Act of 2026, bill text: alsobrooks.senate.gov/…/RIL26572.pdf


Lawmakers Introduce Three Bills to Expand Dental Coverage in Public Programs

Views: 13
Sponsors
Townie Perks
Townie® Poll
What do you use to take routine X-rays?