PRIA Logo™
HR10676119th CongressWALLET

Foster Youth Dental Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Representative Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37]

Introduced

Summary

Extends Medicaid dental and EPSDT coverage for certain foster youth up to age 25. The Foster Youth Dental Act would let young people who remained in foster care or were covered while in care keep dental and treatment benefits into early adulthood and would boost dentist payments and outreach to improve access.

Show full summary
  • Former foster youth: Eligible young people who stayed in foster care or were enrolled while in care could keep Medicaid dental and treatment coverage through age 25, with the bill’s language recognizing "specified individuals" as under age 26.
  • Dentists and providers: Creates a guaranteed payment floor called the "specified average rate" based on the prior 5 years of contracted rates. That rate is designed to encourage dentists to enroll and serve the specified population.
  • States and enrollment: Requires state outreach programs to enroll eligible former foster youth and to recruit dentists. States may choose state or U.S. rate data when setting the specified average rate and receive a temporary 100% federal match for the portion of dental payments above each state's Jan. 1, 2026 baseline.

*Would increase federal spending for the dental services covered by the bill by providing a temporary 100% federal match for the portion of payments above each state's Jan. 1, 2026 baseline.*

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

More dental coverage for foster youth

If enacted, the bill would extend Medicaid’s EPSDT dental and treatment coverage from under age 21 to under age 26 for certain foster youth. That group is defined as a foster youth under State responsibility who stayed in care past age 18 (or under a higher State age) and who was enrolled in the State Medicaid plan or a waiver while in foster care. The change would apply to medical assistance furnished in calendar quarters starting on or after the first calendar quarter that begins at least 80 days after enactment. The bill would also require States to update Medicaid information to include dental services, stress the importance of good oral health, and reflect the extended age group; those information updates would begin in the first calendar quarter beginning at least 80 days after enactment, and some managed‑care rule edits would apply upon enactment.

Minimum dental pay and federal match

If enacted, the bill would require that dental services provided by a dentist to an eligible foster youth under age 26 be paid at no less than a "specified average rate." That rate would be the five‑year average of contracted rates for the service, and States could choose to use State‑specific averages or U.S. rates set by the Secretary. The minimum‑payment rule would apply to services furnished on or after the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning at least 80 days after enactment. For the portion of State Medicaid expenditures that is attributable to the amount by which the required minimum payment exceeds the State plan rate in effect on January 1, 2026, the federal match would be 100 percent for the 50 States and DC for services furnished on or after the same date.

State outreach to enroll foster youth

If enacted, each State would have to start, within 6 months, an outreach and enrollment program to increase enrollment of people eligible under the bill’s foster‑youth Medicaid provision. The program must be coordinated with the State agency that runs the Title IV‑E program and follow Secretary‑approved best practices. States would also have to run outreach to dentists to encourage them to enroll as participating providers. The bill does not specify a new appropriation for these programs.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37]

CA • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]

    NE • R

    Sponsored 10/1/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation