The draft bill includes provisions to improve the future national pandemic strategy, vaccine programs, and caregiver training. 

The American Dental Association (ADA) announced its support for the 21st Century Cures 2.0 Act. The draft legislation seeks to modernize the delivery of healthcare in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and build upon the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law in 2016. 

In a July 16 letter to U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette (D-Colo) and Fred Upton (R-Mich), ADA President Daniel J. Klemmedson, DDS, MD, and Executive Director Kathleen T. O’Loughlin, DMD, thanked lawmakers for their work on the legislation and voiced the association’s support for a number of the bills proposals. 

The letter expressed the ADA’s support for sections relating to developing a national strategy to prepare for the next pandemic and the need for public awareness campaigns on vaccination. In addition, the ADA expressed support for the legislation’s provision for educational programs and training for caregivers, specifically the need to train caregivers of aging, seriously ill, or disabled people on providing good oral healthcare, and the need for increasing health literacy to promote better outcomes for patients. 

The ADA also express support for the legislation’s inclusion of investment in research aimed at sparking the economy. “The funding provided in this section to the National Institutes of Health will continue research that was disported by COVID-19, including oral health research at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research,” the letter says.”