Restoring equity to the dental benefits marketplace will help those that need help the most. It will help those with limited incomes and limited options, who need good benefits to have access to care. It will help patients in some rural areas, where there may be only a single dental practice. Today, if that practice isn’t part of the Delta network, patients can be forced to drive for an hour or more to find one who is or settle for less coverage. And it will help small businesses and their employees, who are currently forced to subsidize more generous plans offered by large employers.

That hasn’t been the case in other markets. The cost of actual dental care is driven by workforce shortages of hygienists and assistants, the costs of supplies, rent, utilities, technology, and all the things that go into providing care. What these changes will increase is the share of those costs that are covered by dental benefits insurance.

This is about restoring equity to the dental benefits marketplace and getting patients the care that they need and have already paid for in the form of monthly premiums. Dentists can’t provide care if they can’t cover their costs, and large insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to push that burden onto the patient, especially those in low-income families and underserved communities.

First, it would force all plans to meet a minimum standard. Another important thing the legislation would do – and one of the reasons some carriers oppose it – is that it would end the current subsidization of generous plans for major employers by the more expensive plans offered to smaller groups and individuals.

Over the past five years, Delta has paid its executives and directors more than twice as much as it has contributed to charitable causes. Clearly, there’s plenty of money to maintain or increase its presence in the community if they choose to do so.