3 things you missed in government this week
Pass-through entity taxes, electronic dental records, fluoride
“Three Things You Missed in Government This Week” is designed to offer a way to stay informed on the topics of the week. These updates are meant to offer brief details on legislative or regulatory topics to keep dentists engaged and up to date. To explore the ADA’s latest advocacy efforts, more information is available at ADA.org/Advocacy.
1. The ADA expressed opposition to the removal of pass-through entity tax deductions in a Grassroots Alert and Association-led coalition letter addressed to Senate Republican leadership. Currently included in the budget reconciliation package, this provision denies the pass-through entity tax deductions for many small businesses, including dental practices. The ADA said the new provision could result in a new tax increase on dentists who own or are partners in practices structured as pass-through entities.
2. The ADA filed comments in response to the Food and Drug Administration notice on how future research that uses real world data, like electronic dental records, can be standardized and better integrated into national research systems. While medicine has made significant progress in using structured data from electronic health records, dentistry has unique challenges that make this more complicated, the ADA said. Some differences in dentistry include how records are kept, what data is collected, and what technology is used across private practices and public clinics.
3. The ADA is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to incorporate several evidence-based studies and analyses in any upcoming review of the science on the safety of fluoride in drinking water. It also encouraged the agency to apply its Safe Drinking Water Act review protocols and discontinue literature that doesn’t meet those standards. The ADA provided a list of studies it said are likely suitable for a six-year review, based on the risk evaluation protocols established in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
