DENTAL BENEFIT PLAN W/O FEE S.B. 1106 (S-1):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 1106 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Committee: Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Insurance Code to require a health plan or nonprofit dental care organization that provided dental benefits to have at least one method of payment or reimbursement that provided the dentist with 100% of the amount payable and did not include a fee for the payment or reimbursement. The bill would not apply to a fee imposed by the dentist's financial institution.
If the dentist opted out of a method of payment described above, the decision would remain in effect until the dentist opted back into the prior payment plan or a new plan contract was executed.
BRIEF RATIONALE
According to testimony, when seeking payment from insurance carriers, some dentists are getting paid with a financial instrument that would cause them to incur costs in order to access the funds used as their payment, such as a prepaid credit card with a processing fee. Some believe that insurance carriers should pay dentists in a way that doesn t incur an extra cost, and so the bill has been suggested.
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
Date Completed: 12-11-24 Analyst: Nathan Leaman
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.