Fix WA Dental Benefits
A small number of common-sense changes will fix the broken dental benefits market and ensure that thousands of patients across Washinton receive the coverage they’ve paid for. Those who will benefit the most are those who need help the most: people with limited options and limited incomes, who can’t afford huge out-of-pocket expenses and require good benefits for access to care.
Protect patient choice.
01
Ensure patients receive the full benefits they pay for, regardless of who they choose to provide their care. Patients should be able to pick any dentist they trust. And they shouldn’t be punished if that dentist isn’t on an insurance company’s provider roster.
Require more premium dollars be spent on care.
02
Washington can be a leader in oral health equity by requiring that dental insurance companies invest at least 85% of the premiums they collect in patient care – just like medical insurers are required to do. Premium dollars should go to improving access to quality care, not to insurance company overhead, executive salaries, and corporate profits.
End denial of claims for treatments performed on the same day.
03
Dental insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to deny a claim for a covered procedure just because it was done on the same day as another procedure. There is no medical justification for this restriction, and unnecessarily delaying treatment can pose a medical risk to the patient.