In 2007, Deamonte Driver's died from a brain infection caused by an untreated toothache. His death, at only 12 years of age, shined a harsh spotlight on the sorry state of our country's system of oral health care.
For $80, Deamonte's infected tooth could have been removed and his life saved. Yet, his family could not find a dentist willing to treat this child and take away his pain.
That any American child could die as a result of a tooth infection because he or she is unable to see a dentist is both a tragedy and a disgrace. We must do better -- and we are.
Since Deamonte Driver's tragic death, I have been working with both federal and state leaders to assure that this young man's death would not be in vain.
Leading our movement to assure Deamonte Driver's legacy for all of Maryland's children are our Governor, Martin O'Malley, Maryland's Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Josh Sharfstein, and a public-private movement, the Maryland Dental Action Coalition
Driven by the evidence that 30 percent of Maryland third grade children still have untreated dental caries -- and that nearly one-half of oral cancer cases are diagnosed only when those cancers have spread -- we know that we have no time to waste.
For example, 63 percent of Maryland's Medicaid recipients were children in 2008, while only 19 percent of our dentists were participating. Today, three years later, we have increased the number of participating dentists by one-third -- and all of Maryland's 24 local health departments now provide oral health services on site.
This progress toward our goals is why I was so gratified to join Beth Lowe, Secretary Sharfstein and other Coalition leaders last week as we launched Maryland's Oral Health Plan for the next five years.
We are determined to expand access to affordable and effective oral health care, do a far better job in preventing oral disease and injury, and educate the public about how best to access the care that their families need.
We can succeed here in Maryland, but we need a strong partner in the Federal government. Reforms like the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have brought us closer to ensuring that no other child suffers Deamonte's fate.
The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act ("CHIP") mandated - for the first time - that children eligible for the program receive dental coverage. I was deeply gratified that this important reform legislation included several initiatives that I had long advocated.
For example, children covered by CHIP now receive a guaranteed dental benefit that includes preventive, restorative, and emergency dental care -- coverage that also extends to children who are eligible for CHIP but have private medical insurance that does not include dental insurance.
Equally important, our Federally Qualified Community Health Centers now have the ability to contract with private dentists for the purpose of providing dental care under both Medicaid and CHIP.
Last March, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act that authorizes $11 billion in federal funding for these same community health centers. Less well known, our health reform legislation also provides that every insurance package offered through the new Health Insurance Exchanges will offer pediatric dentistry care starting in 2014.
The CHIP Reauthorization Act and the Affordable Care Act are major milestones in fulfilling our commitment to our children's health. Taken together with local initiatives like Maryland's, they are a significant down payment in our mission to honor Deamonte Driver's life and legacy.
It is both tragic and misguided that the new Republican House majority is attempting to dismantle and defund these reforms.
We cannot allow this step backward to prevail. The significant gains in oral health we are achieving would be lost, and lives would be lost as well.
Young and older alike, we all have a personal interest in seeing these reforms succeed. Maryland's new Oral Health Plan -- combined with federal healthcare reform --can move us forward toward our goal.
Then, and only then, will we have fulfilled Deamonte Driver's legacy.