The Illinois State Dental Society announced that dental insurance reform will be the primary focus for the organization's 2023 legislative agenda.
Here is what the ISDS has in mind for its 2023 dental insurance reform plans, according to a Jan. 18 news release from the organization:
1. The ISDS aims to pass legislation requiring dental insurers to meet a dental loss ratio. This would require dental insurers to spend a minimum of their collected premium on patient care.
2. Insurance companies are able to sell or lease their network to another company. When they do this, dentists must abide by the new network's fee schedules and contract terms. The ISDS seeks legislation that requires insurance companies to obtain dentists' permission prior to leasing the network.
3. When insurers pay dentists with virtual credit cards, the insurer requires dentists to pay the processing fee on the credit card. The ISDS seeks legislation that prohibits insurers from requiring dentists to pay the processing fee on any electronic payments, including virtual credit cards.
In addition to dental insurance reform, the ISDS plans to focus on implementing more patient protections for teledentistry in Illinois and work to pass legislation to create a standard or automatic qualifier for when Medicaid beneficiaries can receive orthodontic care, according to the release.