Some good policy news (boldface mine):

In a move last month that received little fanfare, the Biden administration finalized a rule that would give states the option of adding adult dental insurance coverage as part of their Affordable Care Act plans.

In another attempt to bolster dental coverage, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Friday introduced the Comprehensive Dental Care Reform Act of 2024, a bill that would expand dental coverage through Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration and increase the number of dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists nationwide…

Under Biden’s rule, states have until 2025 to decide whether to mandate that insurers cover dental benefits for adults. The dental benefits would not take effect until 2027. No states have publicly signaled yet that they intend to require ACA dental benefits in 2027, however, advocates say the new rule could represent a significant expansion of dental insurance, which gets less scrutiny than medical insurance for hospital, doctor and pharmacy bills.

Sanders has rallied for dental reforms for more than a decade. In 2022, the senator unsuccessfully pushed for Medicare to provide comprehensive dental coverage for older Americans. During a hearing Thursday of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee he chairs, Sanders said tens of millions of American adults either can’t afford or are unable to get necessary dental care. The hearing featured testimony from dentists, advocates and academics who discussed the depths of the challenge of providing nationwide oral care access.

The phrase “that received little fanfare” is killing me. FIRE UP THE FANFARE!

Lots of people hate having ‘bad teeth’, and this is good news–so tell them the good news. This also would pressure states to add dental benefits. When you do a good thing, tell people about it*.

The White House press office sucks at its job, so I guess it’s up to the rest of us…

*What’s depressing is if Trump wins, he’ll get the credit for this. Why Biden et alia didn’t push for so many of these rules earlier in his term…