The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill to improve comprehensive dental coverage for older patients, veterans and low-income residents.

The Comprehensive Dental Reform Act—a companion to a bill presented in May—aims to strengthen Medicare, Medicaid and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a press release issued by Debbie Dingell, a representative of Michigan.

The act will also seek to raise funding for oral health services, expand access to qualified oral health care professionals, increase the number of oral health professionals practicing in communities with unmet dental needs, and enhance research initiatives on oral disease prevention and management, according to a press release from debbiedingell.house.gov.

A recent national poll conducted by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health has demonstrated that Americans may rank Medicare dental coverage as a more critical issue than the future of the Affordable Care Act. Further, there is growing bipartisan support from a majority of Americans to include dental benefits in Medicare coverage and adult dental benefits in Medicaid coverage at the state or federal level.