Proposed $3.5T budget would add dental to Medicare

U.S. Democrats announced an agreement on a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that would expand Medicare to provide money for dental benefits, according to a July 13 article in the New York Times.

The plan also includes money for vision and hearing benefits in Medicare, in addition to a bipartisan infrastructure deal. Details of the budget have yet to be hammered out, the New York Times reported.

It is still unclear whether the budget blueprint, and subsequent bill, have the support needed to pass the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior studies have found broad support from Americans for adding dental benefits to Medicare.

In a 2020 poll from the University of Michigan, almost all U.S. adults over the age of 65 supported adding dental benefits to Medicare. Similarly, a 2019 survey of likely voters found 7 out of 10 U.S. voters approved of the concept.