Massachusetts Academy of General Dentistry Endorses Question 2
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) endorses dental-insurance reform in the form of ballot Question 2, so patients’ premium dollars are spent on patient care.
Massachusetts law establishes an 88% medical loss ratio (MLR) for medical-insurance plans, but there is currently no MLR for dental-insurance plans. An MLR is the portion of premium revenue that a healthcare insurance company spends on claims, patient care, and healthcare quality for its customers. One dental insurer’s IRS 990 form documents it spent less than 60% of premium revenue on patient care and kept the remaining $383 million for administrative costs, exorbitant executive salaries, and profits.
A dental-insurance MLR will appear as Question 2 on the statewide ballot in the Nov. 8 election. The referendum will ensure MLRs apply to dental plans in the same way they currently apply to medical plans. This ballot initiative would make dental providers more transparent and accountable to the patients they serve. If passed, this consumer protection law is a value guarantee that requires dental insurers to pay at least 83% of revenue toward patient care, or refund patients with the dollars that have not been spent.
“As dentists, we see patients in and out of our chairs. We have the unique and important opportunity to inform and send the message to all of our patients and colleagues,” Massachusetts AGD President Sarita Patel said.
The Massachusetts AGD board has been active in motivating members to spread the word in a grassroots manner, going door-to-door is still the best way to inform our communities. “Funds used to support increased patient care will come from removing corporate waste,” the academy noted. “Patients will be refunded if dental insurance companies don’t meet the 83% MLR. The increase in premiums is being vastly skewed and falsely claimed in some of the marketing that opposes this initiative.”
For more information, visit fairdentalinsurance.org.