The ADA is supporting newly introduced federal legislation aimed at ensuring that state dental insurance reform laws apply to self-funded dental plans.
The Improving Dental Administration Act was introduced March 12 by Reps. Jeff Van Drew, D.M.D., R-N.J., and Herb Conaway, M.D., D-N.J. The measure would ensure that the more than 360 state dental insurance reform and patient protection laws enacted in the past decade apply to patients enrolled in self-insured plans.
Self-funded dental plans are regulated under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA. Some dental carriers have argued that the law allows them to avoid complying with state insurance regulations designed to protect patients and providers, and the ADA said it wants to close the loophole and return the power to regulate health care to the states.
Source: Legislation introduced to apply state dental insurance laws to self-funded plans / ADA News