Dentists are smiling

Also: Tackling laced counterfeit pills sold via social media; strategies for fighting insomnia [View in browser](    [❤️]( November 15, 2022 Hi CommonHealth reader, In a few places, the ballots are still being counted, but the results of the midterm elections are coming into focus. Where health is concerned, there are two things we know: Voters protected abortion rights in several states where that issue was directly on the ballot; and dental insurers in Massachusetts will have to conform to new — and potentially groundbreaking — financial regulations. Massachusetts Ballot Question 2 passed with a surprisingly large margin. The tally so far shows more than 71% of voters said "yes." Those voters indicated they want dental insurers to be required to spend at least 83% of premium dollars on patient care. “Such a strong mandate from the voters of Massachusetts beat many people's expectations,” said Chad Olson, director of state government affairs for the American Dental Association. “It just says that this is something that, likely, citizens around the country would like to see for their coverage.” I spoke with Olson on the day after the results came in, and he used lofty language to describe the election outcome: “This is a sea change moment for dental insurance.” The change he envisions is significant. Olson thinks the vote set in motion a nationwide campaign to adopt similar regulations in other states. “I can tell you that a number of states, more than a handful, have reached out to me,” he said. Olson declined to name the states to avoid showing anyone's hand too quickly. But he said they fall on both sides of the political spectrum and are located all over the country. Olson said this type of reform has been a goal of the ADA for over a decade. He expects to see legislation proposed in some states as soon as this spring. Dental insurers are likely to oppose these efforts. They fought Question 2 in Massachusetts, arguing it would increase prices and reduce access to care. But Olson expects the industry to reorient itself in response to the new regulations. He argues it will have a bigger focus on oral health and new incentives for patients to visit the dentist. “Even people that have coverage, only 50% of them go to the dentist,” Olson said, pointing out that currently, insurance companies make more money when patients get less care. If a certain amount of customer premiums have to go toward things like cleanings, fillings and other dental procedures, Olson thinks insurers will do more to encourage patients to go to dentists. “It changes the paradigm,” he said. “It's a totally different frame of mind of how you set up your business.” P.S.— How often do you go to the dentist? What kinds of services and patient care would make you more likely to go? Reply back to let us know, and we may share it in this newsletter or on social media! Gabrielle Emanuel Health reporter [Follow]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [Tackling the fake pill supply killing teens and young adults]( Counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, sold via social media sites, are killing young people. Here's how parents, advocates and social media companies are trying to tackle the problem. 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[Read more.]( What We're Reading 📚 Nobody likes lying awake unable to fall asleep. There are some go-to strategies that clinicians often turn to, like sleeping pills or telling patients to get out bed if they can’t sleep. But sometimes those methods don’t work. Lisa Strauss, a clinical psychologist in the Boston area who specializes in sleep disorders, suggested some alternative approaches in a recent [Washington Post column]( First, she says we should start thinking of sleep as a natural body function, and stop trying to control and monitor it with apps. Instead, she argues we should try to be more flexible, and take away the pressure that comes with constantly measuring and assessing performance. Second, she suggests compressing your sleep window. She compares it to pizza dough. You don’t want it spread so wide that it gets thin and holey. Instead, you want it shorter and thicker, such that you have a nice, deep sleep. She recommends picking a length of time and trying it for at least eight nights in a row, then fine tuning it. And finally, she recommends finding something soothing to get your mind off the anxieties and to-do lists that can surface during a sleepless night. The answers to this vexing problem may be different for everyone. The overarching feeling I get from the column is to be kind and generous with ourselves, even when our bodies aren’t doing exactly what we want them to do. "Social media has become a superhighway of drugs." — Jon DeLena, of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, on [tackling the supply of fake pills]( online. 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