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I have had comments from several people
who do not understand the terms and process of the
legislature. I am providing this link to the "About
the Legislature" page.This section provides information
about the legislative process, the history of the Unicameral
and general information about Unicameralism, Other resources
provided include tips on testifying at a legislative
hearing, qualifications for becoming a senator, the rules of
the Legislature, along with a
wealth of other information.
____________________________________________
11-15-09
Nebraska Legislative Session to commence January 6,
2010 LB 542 remains on Select File for the 2010
legislative session. NDHA has conducted several “Towne Hall
Meetings” across the state to keep dental hygienists and
dental assistants informed of LB 542. Our Association has
also met with NDA and NDAA over the summer/fall months to
discuss LB 542. We continue to work towards reaching a
compromise that each of our professions can accept.
The dental hygiene profession stood unified with one
voice regarding LB 542 in the 2009 session and we encourage
you to continue your efforts this year. If you were not
able to be involved in the legislative process last year we
encourage you to become active this year. Together, our
unified voice can make such a difference!
Dental Hygienists, we’ve put together a handy checklist
to keep you on task…Have you:
- Identified who your senator is? To find your
senator, go to
www.nebraskalegislature.gov
- Made contact with your senator? Emailing is
preferred by many Senators and is so easy to do any time
of the day. Send a short email note to your senator
introducing yourself and making yourself available for
questions regarding LB 542, should they have questions.
To email your senator, include the initial of their
first name followed by their entire last name, followed
by @leg.ne.gov Example: Senator Rich Pahl’s email
would be:
rpahls@leg.ne.gov
- Obtained your Senator’s FAX number? If you need to
get important information in your Senator’s hands,
FAX’ing is very effective.
- Sent an invite to your Senator for the 2010 NDHA
Legislative Breakfast which is scheduled for January 22nd?
Information is located in the newsletter…please send an
email invite to your Senator today to invite them
to this very important and well attended event.
- Reviewed the NDHA website to keep current on
legislative issues in our state and nationally? Visit
our website at:
www.nedha.org
- Kept current regarding NDHA’s position regarding LB
542? Visit the website or contact Annette Byman @
annettebyman@hotmail.com
- Responded to all email communication sent by NDHA
and followed through on NDHA’s requests?
- Offered to help your senator with campaign efforts?
- Kept your Senator informed by sending him/her email
updates?
- RSVP’d for the Legislative Breakfast by the deadline
date?
- Kept NDHA informed of discussions with your Senator
and any other important issues?
As discussions continue between NDA, NDHA and NDAA, we
will do our best to keep you informed of the progress
regarding LB 542. Communication will happen via email and
by phone. Please check your email daily as we typically have
a very short timeframe when dealing with legislative issues.
We appreciate your past support and we ask that you continue
to stay informed so you can be involved in our legislative
endeavors. If you have specific questions, please refer to
the NDHA website to obtain officer, component president, or
legislative chairman’s contact information.
6-4-09
Thursday, May 21,2009 was a day each of us can be proud of
for dental hygiene!! During Thursday’s debate, LB 542 was
laid over on Select File – (where it presently is in the
legislative process) - until the 2010 session of the
Legislature! That gives the three dental professions
the summer and fall to work out a compromise to bring to the
Legislature next year. It will be exciting to see what the 3
professions can accomplish by working together. It is our
hopes that all three dental associations will agree that the
health, safety and welfare of the citizens of our state
needs to be placed at the forefront of our decision making.
Stopping the bill in its tracks was a filibuster mounted by
Senator Russ Karpisek, which he kept going for two-
and-a-half hours. Senator Karpisek told us he undertook this
effort on behalf of the dental hygienists in his district.
After 2 ½ hours of filibustering, the introducer of
the LB 542, Senator Kathy Campbell, brought forth a motion
to immediately postpone LB 542 and ask that it be laid over
to the 2010 session. The motion was supported and LB 542 has
been laid over to the 2010 legislative session.
The NDHA Legislative Committee has prioritized this bill and
we will work hard with both the NDA and NDAA to come to a
compromise in writing language that all three of our
associations can agree upon. Please check back often to keep
current with information regarding this issue.
We welcome your comments and input as we begin moving
forward in finding common ground with NDA and NDAA. Please
keep us informed of your ideas and suggestions. Our purpose
is to work for the betterment of dental hygiene and the
citizens of Nebraska...your feedback is important to us, so
feel free to contact us at any time.
Please direct any questions to our webmaster…she will
forward questions to our committee. Thank you.
NDHA Legislative Committee,
Jane Broekemeier, Annette Byman, Cindy Carlson, Brandi
Gufford, Nathan Krueger & Janet Wehrli
5-12-09
Legislative Advances LB 542
You can read the bill here
http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=6847
Unfortunately, on Monday the
Legislature advanced LB 542 to Select File, without our amendment, on a
vote of 27-4. The bill should come before the Legislature on Select File
sometime next week. Virtually every senator who spoke on LB 542
mentioned the extensive contacts he or she had received on the measure
from dental assistants, dental hygienists, and dentists. We
appreciate your efforts to stop this bill.
Please watch your email closely regarding further correspondence.
NDHA Legislative Committee
5-10-09
Legislative debate continues with LB 542 on Monday,
May 11th, 2009.
LB 542, the bill created by Senator Campbell, which would allow the
Board of Dentistry to recommend to the DHHS education, training and
preparation for various duties for dental assistants, has been given
floor debate time on two occasions...Wednesday, May 6th and Friday, May
8th. Both days, debate was ended for either adjournment or to move on to
agenda business.
Two amendments have been made to LB 542...one amendment by Senator
Campbell and another by Senator Lautenbaugh. Senator Lautenbaugh has
brought forth an amendment on behalf of dental hygiene. To review the
language of both amendments, please visit the unicam's website at:
http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=6847
Speaker Flood has placed LB 542 on Monday's agenda. We encourage all of
you to continue contacting your senators and delivering our unified
message...and that is for them to support Senator Lautenbaugh's
amendment. If you can be at the capitol on Monday, we'd apprecite your
support. Please contact the NDHA with any questions or
for more information.
We hope you have been keeping in touch with your senator regarding LB
542. Thank you for your support!
3-27-09
LB 542
You can read the bill here
http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=6847
LB
542 was brought forth by the Nebraska Dental Association (NDA) and
introduced by Senator Kathy Campbell on January 21, 2009. This bill, if
passed, would allow the Nebraska Board of Dentistry to decide education,
preparation and training pertaining to various duties which would be
delegated to dental assistants.
The Nebraska Dental Hygienists’ Association (NDHA) has several concerns
with allowing the Board of Dentistry the ability to promulgate
educational or training procedures (or lack of education and training)
for the many duties they have already proposed for dental assistants
through Chapter 53. Those concerns are:
Ø
The bill would allow the Board of Dentistry to set dental assisting
requirements, but does NOT have specific parameters and guidelines for
educational requirements.
Ø
The bill would also allow the Board of Dentistry to pick and choose
which functions to place requirements on, which does not establish a
uniform standard of care.
Ø
This bill does not protect the health, safety and welfare of the
citizens of our state.
We
also have concerns with the constitutionality of this bill. To our
knowledge, there is yet to be a health care professional who provides
direct patient care who does not already have a scope of practice
established in law. Regardless of whether you are in the medical field,
a cosmetologist, a tattoo artist, a veterinary technician, a nail
technician, etc. a scope of practice is always established in law first.
Both dentistry and dental hygiene have a scope of practice defined in
law. Once a scope of practice is defined, individual board of examiners
are allowed to promulgate rules and regulations. A scope of practice
must FIRST be established in statute defining minimum age requirements,
education and duties a dental assistant can perform, before we feel the
Board of Dentistry should be allowed to promulgate rules and regulations
for dental assistants
The Nebraska Dental Assistants’ Association (NDAA) is also opposing LB
542 for many of the same reasons. Together, our two associations have
worked jointly in defining a scope of practice for dental assistants. We
have presented this proposal as an amendment to LB 542. Unfortunately,
this amendment has not been accepted by NDA.
The Legislature’s Health & Human Services Committee hearing was held on
February 26th, 2009. Dental hygienists, dental assistants,
educators and NDHA’s attorney provided verbal testimony opposing LB 542.
It was NDHA’s understanding that Senator Campbell would not be seeking
to move the bill out of Committee unless a compromise was made between
the three dental associations (NDA, NDHA, NDAA); nevertheless, the HHS
Committee did vote to advance the bill to General File with 5 members
voting yes and two abstaining. Once the bill advanced to General File,
Speaker of the Legislature, Senator Flood, chose LB 542 as one of
twenty-five Speaker priority bills. The prioritization of this bill
creates a real possibility that LB 542 may be heard and debated by all
49 senators this legislative session.
This is a very crucial time to make contact with your senator asking
him/her to oppose LB 542. A phone conversation is best but if you cannot
reach your Senator, email them. We need as many dental hygienists and
dental assistants as possible to contact their senators now. Please keep
us informed of comments from your Senator by contacting Jane Broekemeier
at
gjbroek@gpcom.net or Annette Byman at
annettebyman@hotmail.com
Thank you for your support!
Links to:
Find your senator
Call your senator
Email your senator
12-5-08
Medicaid Direct Reimbursement to RDH
Enrollment Form
The enrollment form
and instructions can be found at the following website:
http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/med/providerenrollment.htm
The form that needs
to be completed is the MC-19. The contact person for the enrollment
process is Marla Scheer at 402-471-9717.
11-15-08
Dental Assistants 407
Technical Review
NDAA informative letter (PDF)
NDAA Proposal (PDF)
The final meeting of
the Dental Assisting 407 Technical Review Committee was held on October
28, 2008. The 407 committee made up of 1 representative from Nebraska
Dental Assistants’ Association (NDAA), Nebraska Dental Association
(NDA), and Nebraska Dental Hygienists’ Association (NDHA), three lay
members and 1 representative from the Board of Health (BOH). The
Technical Review Proposal would require licensure for dental assistants
who would provide delineated services to patients and also outlines
educational requirements to provide expanded functions such as sealants
and restoration placement. The proposal also allows for the
grandfathering of current dental assistants.
The committee agreed
with Criterion 1 that ”unregulated practice can clearly harm or endanger
the health, safety, or welfare of the public” as well as Criterion 3
which states “the public needs, and can reasonably be expected to
benefit from, assurance of initial and continuing professional ability
by the state. However, the committee did not feel the proposal
satisfied Criterion 2 and 4 due to possible new economic hardship,
significant diminishment of qualified practitioners, and felt that the
public could be more effectively protected by other means.
In order to receive a
favorable report the proposal must pass on all four criterion. The
proposal failed. The BOH will render an opinion on this issue at its
Nov. 17 meeting. The Chief Medical Director will also offer an
opinion. The Technical Review Process was developed to aid the
Legislature with Scope of Practice issues for Health Care Professionals.
Medicaid Direct
Reimbursement to RDH
The Attorney General
Office approved Medicaid Enrollment of Licensed Dental Hygienists on
Nov. 3, 2008. The proposed change requires the signature of the
Governor prior to enactment. The RDH must complete and sign (MC-19) the
Medical Assistance Provider Agreement” and submit to Nebraska Health and
Human Services for approval to participate in Nebraska Medical
Assistance Program (NMAP). The proposed change also requires RDH to be
licensed by the state and practice within your scope to participate in
NMAP.
Draft regulations are
available at
http://www.sos.state.ne.us/rules-and-regs/regtrack/index.cg
9-18-07
During the past six
(6) months, a stakeholders meeting, a public hearing, and several
committee meetings have been facilitated by the Dept. of HHS to address
Administrative Code 172 Chapter 53 which addresses duties performed by
dental hygienists and dental assistants. The proposed language updates
the Chapter by including the newest scope of language for dental
hygienists allowing dental hygienists to practice in health care
facilities and public health settings without the supervision of a
dentist and addresses expanded function duties for dental assistants.
NDHA voiced concerns
regarding proposed changes to Chapter 53 for dental assistants at each
of these venues and our position at each and every meeting remained
consistent…Accredited education and credentialing (licensing) must be
required if expanded functions are to be delegated to dental assistants
or dental hygienists. NDHA’s legal counsel was consulted during the
entire process and NDHA’s concerns with Chapter 53 were based on the
following premises:
1) It has been
longstanding policy of the state of NE that, generally, any individual
who touches the body of another person for compensation must meet
certain qualifications and be registered, certified or licensed by the
state for the protection of the welfare of the public.
2) Many procedures
listed in the proposed changes for dental assistants would require
clinical competence in order to prevent harm to the patient. These
regulatory changes, as presented, would allow a number of procedures to
be performed under general supervision, which means that no supervising
dentist need be on the premises.
3) Dental assistants
in our state are unlicensed. Because dental assistants have no license
to revoke or suspend, there is no official disciplinary action that
could be taken from a credentialing agency. We believe this violates the
concept of state regulation necessary for the protection of the public
as well as being inconsistent with current statute, which requires
licensed dentists and dental hygienists to attain and maintain required
ethical, physical and educational standards in order to practice. It was
the recommendation of NDHA that proposed changes to Chapter 53 be
delayed until the NDAA (Nebraska Dental Assistants’ Association)
completes the 407 Technical Review Process, which is the first step to
the introduction and consideration of legislation for dental assistants
to become credentialed by the State of Nebraska. The NDAA has submitted
their application to the Dept. of HHS to begin this process and we feel
strongly that significant revision of Chapter 53 is both premature and
bad public policy.
To NDHA’s
disappointment, after receiving written and verbal testimony to Chapter
53 from various individuals and dental organizations, the Board of
Dentistry and the Board of Health approved the proposed language changes
with minimal revisions and submitted a draft to the Attorney General’s
office as of August 30th to be approved. If approved by the
Attorney General’s office the proposed draft will be forward to the
Governor for his approval and signature.
We encourage you to
become familiar with the proposed changes to Chapter 53. To review the
chapter, please visit:
http://www.sos.state.ne.us/rules-and-regs/regtrack/index.cgi
NDHA welcomes your
thoughts and suggestions. Please contact NDHA’s Legislative Co-Chairs:
Jane Broekemeier at
gjbroek@gpcom.net or Annette Byman at
annettebyman@hotmail.com for comments.
7-9-07
The Department of Health and Human Services Regulation and Licensure
held a public hearing to accept comments on proposed changes to
regulations on Performance of Duties by Licensed Dental Hygienists and
Dental Assistants in Title 172
Chapter 53 of the Nebraska Administrative Code (NAC).
The proposed changes are intended to –
· Clarify
the duties that are and are not permitted by licensed dental
hygienists and dental assistants;
· Modify
requirements a dental assistant must meet in order to take dental
roentgenograms (x-rays);
· Establish
requirements a dental assistant must meet in order to place retraction
material, perform oral brush biopsy, and apply pit and fissure sealants;
· Implement
Laws 2007, LB 247, Section 25, which authorizes procedures and functions
that can be performed by a licensed dental hygienist under the general
supervision of a licensed dentist;
· Implement
the Health and Human Services Act and statutes relating to dentistry as
amended by Laws 2007, LB 296; and
· Make
technical and editing changes.
NDHA provided testimony
regarding changes to the rules required by the passing of LB 247. NDHA
also provided testimony opposing the adoption of the draft rules for
dental assistants. NDHA’s opinion is that the proposed rules which
allow direct patient care under indirect and general supervision with
the absence of consequences for dental assistants are in conflict with
the United States and Nebraska Constitutions which provide for equal
protection.
It is also the opinion of
the NDHA that the proposed rules are in violation of statute which
defines a dental assistant, the Uniform Licensing Law, and issues
relating to Mandatory Reporting. Existing and proposed rules also
prohibit procedures which require “clinical judgment of the dentist.”
NDHA believes that several of the proposed procedures for dental
assistants including sealants suture removal, and coronal polishing
require clinical judgment.
The NDA and the NDAA
provided testimony in support of the proposed draft.
The Board of Dentistry is
expected to make a recommendation to the Department of Health and Human
Services based on the testimony. The draft will also be reviewed by the
department, the Attorney General’s office, and the Governor’s office.
Draft regulations are
available at
http://www.sos.state.ne.us/rules-and-regs/regtrack/index.cgi
It is official...the Governor
signed LB 247e on May 31st!
6-9-07
The Governor's signature allows dental hygienists to begin practicing
under the new scope of law immediately. An amendment of LB 247 allows
Health and Human Services to authorize a licensed dental hygienist with
3000 hours of clinical experience in at least 4 of the preceding 5 years
to perform: oral prophylaxis to healthy children who do not require
antibiotic premedication; pulp vitality testing; and preventive
measures, including the application of fluorides, sealants, and other
recognized topical agents for the prevention of oral disease in the
conduct of public health-related services. These services may be
provided in a public health setting or in a health care or related
facility without the supervision of a dentist.
Authorization shall be granted by the department
upon filing an application, providing evidence of experience, current
licensure and professional liability coverage. Authorized hygienists
shall be required to report functions to the department and advise the
patient that services are preventive in nature and do not constitute a
comprehensive dental diagnosis and care.
Links:
Legislative Districts (find your senator)
http://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/senator_list.php
Committees of the Nebraska Legislature
http://nebraskalegislature.gov/web/public/committees
Nebraska Unicameral
http://www.unicam.state.ne.us/
Nebraska Unicameral Update
http://unicameralupdate.blogspot.com/2008/02/recent-stories.html
Status of Bills or Resolutions
http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/
Unicameral Live
http://www.netnebraska.org/television/stream/legislature.html
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