Durbin Celebrates New Pediatric Dental Surgery Center In Southern Illinois

Durbin Celebrates New Pediatric Dental Surgery Center In Southern Illinois

MARION - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a press conference at the future home of Shawnee Health Children's Dental Center to discuss the need for high-quality, accessible dental care in southern Illinois and how this new center will support the region. Thanks in part to the federal support and attention Durbin brought to this project, Shawnee Health was able to secure philanthropic funding from the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation for this dental center.

More than three million Illinoisans have Medicaid, but only 24 percent of dentists accept Medicaid. In Illinois, more than two million people live in communities with a shortage of dental providers. Nine counties in the state have only one dentist. For example, there is one dentist for 15,000 people in Lawrence County.

"Any parent knows that pediatric dental care is not a luxury, it's essential," said Durbin. "When I heard from Mayor Harvey that some children in the area were waiting up to a year for dental treatment, I knew something had to be done. I am thrilled that with groups like Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation and constant community support, we have been able to make the Shawnee Health Children's Dental Center a reality."

"We are so thankful to Senator Durbin for his unwavering support for oral health, for sharing the vision with Shawnee Health and for his compassion for children. Because of the full circle support from Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation, Senator Durbin, Mayor Harvey, Mayor Absher, our hospital partners and our fellow community health centers, hundreds of children across southern Illinois will have access to advanced dental services in an appropriate setting without months of delays," said Christina Carney, CEO of Shawnee Health.

Last week, Durbin and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reintroduced the bipartisan Rural America Health Corps Act. The legislation will address growing health disparities by incentivizing more health professionals to serve and plant roots in rural communities, by increasing funding through the National Health Service Corps' (NHSC) scholarship and loan repayment for dentists and other providers who serve in rural areas. In 2021, Durbin secured $1 billion in additional funding for the NHSC to expand the health care workforce in Illinois.

Last month, Durbin reintroduced the Promoting Dental Health Act, which would reauthorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Oral Health program to support states in data collection, water fluoridation, educating dental health professionals, and community outreach programs. Currently, Illinois does not receive any of the $20.25 million in direct grants, due to the fact that the Oral Health program is not adequately funded to serve every state.

In November 2023, Durbin sent three oversight letters to DentaQuest, Envolve, and Avesis - three companies that administer dental benefits for Medicaid managed care companies (MCOs) in Illinois - to seek answers on barriers to providing dental care to Medicaid enrollees. The letters raised concerns and investigated certain insurance practices that can limit and discourage provider participation in Medicaid, which exacerbate existing reimbursement rate challenges.

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