Establishes "Oral Health Equity Act."

S4493

SENATE, No. 4493

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 22, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes �Oral Health Equity Act.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning oral health and supplementing Title 30 of
the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1. This act shall be known and
may be cited as the �Oral Health Equity Act.�

���� 2. As used in this act:

���� "Community oral health
center" means the following in-State entities:� a federally qualified
health center, a dental home, or an acute care hospital licensed by the
Department of Health that provides dental services to uninsured and underinsured
individuals who reside in a medically underserved area.

���� "Dental home" means
a licensed dental practice that administers services in a manner that is
accessible, culturally-sensitive, and family-centered.� A "dental
home" shall not include a licensed dental practice if less than 75 percent
of the dental practice's patients are individuals who are low income and who
reside in a medically underserved area.

���� "Department" means
the Department of Human Services.

���� "Low-income" means a
gross annual household income that is less than 300 percent of the federal
poverty level.

���� "Medically underserved
area" means an area designated by the federal Health Resources and
Services Administration as having too few primary care providers, a high rate
of infant mortality and poverty, and a disproportionately high share of elderly
persons in the population of the area.

���� �Medicaid� means New Jersey
Medical Assistance and Health Services Program established pursuant to
P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.).

���� �NJ FamilyCare� means the NJ
FamilyCare Program established pursuant to sections 3 through 5 of P.L.2005,
c.156 (C.30:4J-10 through C.30:4J-12).

���� �Underinsured� means an
individual who receives health insurance services under the Medicaid or NJ
FamilyCare program.

���� �Uninsured� means an
individual who lives below the federal poverty level, and who is not eligible
to receive health insurance services under the Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare
program.

���� 3. a. The department shall
establish an oral health equity program through agreements with community oral
health centers.

���� b. A community oral health
center seeking to participate in the oral health equity program shall file an
application with the department, in a manner to be determined by the
department.� The department shall require an eligible community oral health
center to enter into an agreement with the department to provide dental care to
underinsured and uninsured patients.� The dental care shall include the
following:

���� (a) an initial dental visit
for a comprehensive exam, cleaning, caries risk assessment, periodontal
charting, and the establishment of a one-year treatment plan;

���� (b) comprehensive dental care
and restorative treatment as needed;

���� (c) a cleaning and treatment
plan review approximately six months and one year following the date of the
initial dental visit;

���� (d) two dental visits for the
patient on an annual basis;

���� (e) identification of a dental
home for the patient; and

���� (f) reimbursement for the
provision of dental care services to community oral health centers at a rate
that is equal to or greater than the rate of reimbursement received by
federally qualified health centers for similar services.

���� c. Within 90 days following
the effective date of this act, each community oral health center participating
in the oral health equity program shall compile and report relevant data to the
department, as determined by the department.�

���� 4.��� The Commissioner of
Human Services shall apply for such Medicaid waivers or State plan amendments
as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to secure
federal financial reimbursements for State expenditures under the federal
Medicaid program.

���� 5.
The Commissioner of Human Services shall adopt rules
and regulations, in accordance with the �Administrative Procedure Act,�
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the
provisions of this act.

���� 6. This act shall take effect
90 days following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the
�Oral Health Equity Act.�

���� Under the bill, the Department
of Human Services (department) is to establish an oral health equity program
through agreements with community oral health centers.� A community oral health
center seeking to participate in the oral health equity program is to file an
application with the department, in a manner to be determined by the
department.� The department is to require an eligible community oral health
center to enter into an agreement with the department to provide dental care to
underinsured and uninsured patients.� The dental care is to include the
following:

���� (1) an initial dental visit
for a comprehensive exam, cleaning, caries risk assessment, periodontal
charting, and the establishment of a one-year treatment plan;

���� (2) comprehensive dental care
and restorative treatment as needed;

���� (3) a cleaning and treatment
plan review approximately six months and one year following the date of the
initial dental visit;

���� (4) two dental visits for the
patient on an annual basis

���� (5) identification of a dental
home for the patient; and

���� (6) reimbursement for the
provision of dental care services to community oral health centers at a rate
that is equal to or greater than the rate of reimbursement received by
federally qualified health centers for similar services.

���� It is the sponsor�s belief
that New Jersey is lagging in oral health care, with surveillance data
positioning it at a disadvantage in comparison to other states.� All residents
of New Jersey should have equitable access to oral health centers.�
Attributable to low reimbursement rates from NJ Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare
plans, a significant lack of dental providers in marginalized and rural
communities exacerbates this significant gap, making Black and Hispanic
children from low socioeconomic families suffer from dental disease at two to
three times the rate of their counterparts, leading to school absenteeism and
lower school performance.� It is in the best interest of the residents of New
Jersey, and appropriate for the Legislature to address the long-standing lack
of access to oral health care and address its serious implications. ��