With the recent reelection of President Obama, the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will begin on January 1, 2013. There are three parts of the law that will affect dentists and patients the most in the next few years, writes Dr. Jerry Gordon, DDS, in phillyburbs.com. The first is a 2.3% medical device tax, which he says will increase the cost to deliver dental care to all patients by an estimated $160 million annually and could potentially lead to higher fees for treatment paid by dental patients. The second is funding of training programs for dental therapists and other mid-level providers, primarily aimed at helping serve people in rural or underserved areas, and the third is the availability of dental coverage for children under state or federal insurance exchanges.

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