Two California bills were introduced in February with the goal of holding dental insurance plans accountable and improving dental coverage.
The intent of one of the bills, AB 1048, is to close loopholes that deny patients coverage and lead to increased out-of-pocket costs. This would be done by onboarding some of the protections to dental insurance plans that the Affordable Care Act brought to health insurance plans, according to a Feb. 24 news release from the California Dental Association.
The other bill, AB 952, would require dental insurance plans to disclose whether the enrollee's plan is subject to state or federal regulations at the time the provider is ascertaining a patient's eligibility and benefit determination. It would also require that any membership card, coverage card or other documentation issued by a dental plan to the enrollee include whether the enrollee's plan is subject to state or federal regulation, according to the CDA.
"Exemptions and loopholes have allowed dental plans to continue operating in a 'wild west' environment with little oversight or regulation to ensure they provide a meaningful benefit to consumers," CDA President John Blake, DDS, said in the release. "As we continue to move the needle on increasing access to care, now is the time to tame the wild west — and demanding accountability through these two bills is the best place to start."