The American Dental Association is receiving criticism for creating model legislation for a dental loss ratio for the National Council of Insurance Legislators.
The model legislation, developed in January, serves as a base for the introduction of state dental loss ratio bills while still giving each state the ability to tailor the legislation.
The Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform organization took issue with several aspects of the model legislation, including the ability for insurers to subtract nonprofit community expenditures from their total premiums, according to a March 14 post on the organization's website.
Mouhab Rizkallah, DDS, a Massachusetts orthodontist who spearheaded a ballot initiative that established the first dental loss ratio in the U.S., recently started an online petition that asks the American Dental Association to exit its agreement with NCOIL before the council ratifies the model legislation in April.
The petition also accuses the ADA of violating its House of Delegates policy by adopting a "roving loss ratio" in the model legislation. The policy allegedly states the ADA will support legislative efforts that require dental insurers to establish a specific loss ratio.
The petition currently has more than 900 signatures.
Becker's has contacted the ADA for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.