Newswise — The American Dental Association (ADA) will join thousands of individuals and organizations across the country in observing "Cover the Uninsured Week," a national call for meaningful steps toward helping the millions of Americans who lack adequate access to health care.
"The growing body of knowledge about relationships between oral and systemic health only underscores what we already know—that oral health is essential to overall health," said ADA President Robert M. Brandjord, D.D.S. "The need for better dental access is particularly acute among children—for every child without health coverage, 2.6 children lack dental coverage."
The ADA has long advocated adequately funding existing programs, like Medicaid and SCHIP, and ensuring that those programs provide comprehensive preventive and restorative dental services to eligible people to help alleviate disparities.
The ADA also supports such commonsense, market-based solutions as expanding use of health savings and flexible spending accounts through tax and other incentives. And association health plans currently under consideration in Congress could help millions of working Americans who currently lack health coverage by making insurance benefits affordable for small employers.
"As the number of uninsured Americans increases, the need to address the problem becomes more critical," said Dr. Brandjord. "We are proud to be a 'Cover the Uninsured Week' national supporter, and we encourage our members to get involved in activities taking place in their communities."
For more information about Cover the Uninsured Week, visit http://www.covertheuninsured.org
About the American Dental AssociationThe not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing more than 153,000 members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer and professional products. For more information about the ADA, visit the Association's Web site at http://www.ada.org.
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