ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFITS
Assignment of benefits refers to the right of patients to assign their full dental insurance benefit to a dentist of their choosing, and the corresponding right of a dentist to accept or reject the patient’s benefit. This enables patients to visit the dentist they wish to see, regardless of the dentist’s participation status within an insurer’s network. The MDA is well aware of the difficulties patients and dentists face in dealing with dental plans. By recognizing assignment of benefits in the law, Michigan would ensure that patients could always access the maximum benefit provided by their dental plan and see the dentist of their choosing, regardless of the dentist-insurer relationship. Nationally, more than 20 other states have assignment-of-benefits laws in place. The MDA is currently developing a legislative proposal to introduce such a law here in Michigan.

VIRTUAL CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
Some dental plans reimburse dentists with pre-loaded virtual credit cards, rather than with a check or by electronic funds. This causes an administrative burden for offices because staff need to actively track all of the virtual credit cards’ balances, expiration dates, and other information needed to access the funds. However, what’s most frustrating for dentists is that they become personally responsible for the full credit card processing fees associated with using the card. In effect, the reimbursement paid by a dental plan, which likely does not come close to covering the dentist’s full fee, is further reduced. The MDA supports insurers being required to provide at least one form of payment that provides the dentist with 100% of the payable amount for a claim, per the patient’s plan, and does not require the dentist to incur a cost to access those funds.

NON-COVERED SERVICES
Many dental insurance companies have a practice where they set the fees on services that a plan does not cover. This is unfair to patients and dentists. The patients suffer because a dentist may choose not to offer that service because they lose too much money by providing it. The dentists suffer because if they do accept the non-covered service fee they lose money. Insurance companies should not be allowed to set fees on services they do not cover in a dental plan. The MDA will work on a solution to address this problem.

DENTAL SPECIALTY ADVERTISING
Prior to 2021, the only way dentists could advertise as a specialist in Michigan was if they were licensed in one of the specialties recognized by the state. In 2021, due to a lawsuit settlement, the advertising rule was changed so that non-recognized specialties could advertise free of any rules. The only dentists who have to follow advertising rules were those licensed in one of the recognized specialties. This makes no sense. The MDA will be working with other interested parties to fix this problem.

MEDICAID ANESTHESIA REIMBURSEMENT
In 2023, the Michigan Legislature funded an increase to the Medicaid anesthesia reimbursement, which was significant for dentistry because lack of access to anesthesiologists poses a significant barrier for high-risk Medicaid patients’ access to outpatient hospital settings. While the increase in 2023 was important, Michigan Medicaid’s reimbursement is still less than 15% of the national average reimbursement for anesthesia services. The MDA will continue to advocate for significantly increased funding to increase the Medicaid reimbursement to anesthesiologists and improve access to care for vulnerable and high-risk Medicaid populations.

STUDENT DEBT CRISIS
Dentists are graduating with staggering amounts of student debt, which impacts where they choose to practice, the patient populations they can treat, and the overall cost of dental care. Student debt relief will help curb rising healthcare costs and increase access to dental care.

WORKFORCE SHORTAGE
Many professions have experienced a workforce shortage and dentistry is no exception. Over the past several years, dental offices have experienced a dwindling supply of RDHs and RDAs, as well as office support staff. The MDA is working with the ADA, other state associations, and stakeholders in Michigan to identify solutions that will address the shortage now and provide a sustainable talent pipeline for the dental workforce.