CDA Major Issues & Priorities
1. Saving the Medi-Cal Dental Program
CDA and the Save Our Dental Care Coalition (made up of more than 80 organizations) are urging the legislature to reject the proposed $1 billion cut to the Medi-Cal Dental program, which is set to take effect July 1, 2026. This amounts to one third of the program’s funding, which would bring the program to 1990s funding levels and have catastrophic impacts on the 15 million Californians who rely on Medi-Cal for their dental coverage.
The proposed cuts are highly disproportionate, as dental funding makes up just 1.5% of Medi-Cal program funding but is facing 15% of Medi-Cal budget cuts. While cutting $362 million in state funding, California would also be leaving $576 million of federal matching funds on the table. California would drop to the 48th lowest Medicaid dental reimbursement rates for children in the country.
The network of Medi-Cal dentists would collapse as a result – 49% of more than 1,500 surveyed Medi-Cal dentists say these cuts will force them to leave the program. Another 30% will be forced to see fewer Medi-Cal patients.
These cuts also defy the will of the voters, who overwhelmingly approved this funding by passing Proposition 56 (2016) with 64% support. Prop. 56 has led to historic progress for the Medi-Cal Dental program:
- 37% increase in new dental office visits by Medi-Cal patients since 2020, according to the most recent data.
- 34% increase in the number of Medi-Cal dental providers across the state.
- 40% of California dentists are now enrolled in Medi-Cal.
Lawmakers must consider how the short-term savings of these cuts come with higher long-term costs. The state’s most vulnerable residents will go without basic dental care, leading to worse overall health complications and forcing patients to rely on emergency rooms. When adult Medi-Cal Dental coverage was eliminated in 2009, there was a 32% increase in emergency dental visits by Medi-Cal patients.
The Medi-Cal program’s fundamental purpose is to provide comprehensive, essential health benefits for low-income residents. The proposed cuts abandon that purpose and the people it is supposed to prioritize. We urge legislators to prevent these cuts from taking effect.
2. AB 1629: Dental Insurance Access & Accountability (CDA-Sponsored)
Dental patients across California face increasing challenges finding a dentist who is included in their dental plan’s network. CDA is sponsoring AB 1629, authored by Asm. Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), to address the growing inadequacy of dental plan networks and the resulting barriers to care. The bill does this by:
- Requiring dental insurance companies to report provider network information to the state for all dental plans they sell. Nearly half of Californians with commercial dental coverage are in plans governed by federal ERISA law, which are not included in the current network adequacy assessments conducted by the Dept. of Managed Health Care and Dept. of Insurance. As a result, the state has a very incomplete picture when assessing dental provider network adequacy.
- Requiring all dental plans to comply with a patient’s “assignment of benefits” (AOB) requests, so that patients can receive care from an out-of-network dentist and have the dental plan send payment directly to the dental office. Currently, many patients seeing an out-of-network dentist must pay 100% of the treatment costs upfront and wait to be reimbursed, putting an unnecessary cost burden on patients and further restricting use of their already limited dental benefits.
Patients should not be penalized for seeing an out-of-network dentist when their dental plan is not ensuring an adequate provider network. AB 1629 helps fix a significant barrier to dental care and improves the value of dental coverage.
3. AB 2029: Dental Insurance Transparency Standards (CDA-Sponsored)
CDA is sponsoring AB 2029, authored by Asm. LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego), to address the difficulty dental offices and patients have in accessing accurate, transparent benefit information from dental insurance companies.
To estimate patient costs prior to treatment, dentists and their offices spend significant staff effort obtaining insurance benefit breakdowns outlining what services will be covered and how much a plan will pay. While some dental plans have online portals, many require dental staff to call and speak with plan representatives, which can be a time-consuming process. Call center representatives and dental portals do not provide the same information and often do not fully disclose all the necessary details for an accurate benefit breakdown, such as coverage exceptions, applicable limitations or whether annual maximums will apply. When the information provided by the insurance company differs from the final coverage and explanation of benefits after treatment, the patient can be left on the hook for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
AB 2029 will establish standardized requirements for all dental plans to have an online provider portal available, regardless of whether a dentist is in-network or out-of-network. The portal would have to include crucial details such as coverage eligibility, what costs will be covered by the plan, a patient’s co-payment amount, any applicable deductible or annual maximum, and an expiration date for the estimate.
This would provide full transparency for the patient and dentist during treatment planning. Holding dental insurance companies accountable for their estimate of coverage will provide additional assurance about out-of-pocket costs for patients, especially important when they are undergoing complex or expensive dental treatment.
4. AB 1952: Dental Hygienist Licensure Pathway for Internationally Trained Dentists (CDA-Sponsored)
CDA is sponsoring AB 1952, authored by Asm. Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto), to establish a pathway for internationally trained dentists (ITDs) to earn licensure as registered dental hygienists (RDH).
California dental practices continue to experience persistent difficulty hiring dental hygienists. While the total number of RDHs has increased modestly in recent years, workforce growth has not kept pace with the expanding dentist population. Even with additional RDH educational programs expected to open, projected graduate numbers will add only incremental capacity over time. As a result, many practices report unfilled hygiene positions, reduced appointment availability, and delayed preventive care.
Meanwhile, California has a substantial pool of ITDs whose clinical training, experience, and cultural and linguistic competencies remain underutilized. While six California dental schools have programs allowing ITDs to become licensed dentists, these programs receive thousands of applicants each year for a small fraction of seats available. Despite meeting or exceeding the educational level of hygiene curriculum, ITDs currently have no pathway into the dental hygiene profession. As a result, highly trained clinicians are forced to restart their careers or exit the dental field entirely, even as dental practices report ongoing difficulty hiring hygienists across the state.
This bill creates a rigorous pathway for ITDs to qualify for RDH licensure, overseen by the Dental Hygiene Board of California and modeled on pathways used successfully in several other states. Applicants would have to:
- Submit Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) validation confirming academic equivalence of their international dental degree to a U.S. dental degree.
- Pass national board and clinical examinations.
- Take 50+ hours of CA-specific coursework and the CA law and ethics examination that is required for all California RDHs and reflective of the state’s expansive RDH scope.
AB 1952 would address a critical dental workforce need and integrate highly skilled, culturally competent individuals within the California dental team.
5. AB 873: Dental Assistant Infection Control Training (CDA-Sponsored)
Dental practices across California are struggling to hire and retain staff due to new statutory barriers impacting unlicensed dental assistants. Currently, newly hired unlicensed dental assistants must complete an 8-hour infection control course in person before beginning work in a dental office. However, the limited availability of in-person courses – especially in rural and underserved areas – causes significant hiring delays, leading some candidates to seek jobs in other industries. This workforce challenge reduces access to care for patients and exacerbates existing staffing shortages in dental practices.
CDA is sponsoring AB 873, authored by Asm. Juan Alanis (R-Modesto), to address these issues by:
- Repealing the immediate timing requirement and establishing a 60-day window for completing the eight-hour IC course.
- Directing the dental board to approve virtual course formats, making the training more accessible and flexible for new hires statewide.
This bill will help dental offices hire new staff more efficiently while maintaining patient safety and important infection control standards. These reforms ensure that unlicensed dental assistants can receive timely training without unnecessary delays that impact both dental teams and the patients they serve.
AB 873 passed in the Assembly last year and is a two-year bill while stakeholders continue working on virtual course implementation issues and appropriate timing to complete the training.
6. AB 350: Fluoride Varnish Coverage (CDA Co-Sponsored)
Tooth decay is one of the most common childhood health issues, yet it is largely preventable with early care. CDA is co-sponsoring AB 350, authored by Asm. Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), to expand access to fluoride varnish treatments for children, ensuring they receive this critical preventive care in dental, primary care, community, and home-based settings.
Currently, fluoride treatments are covered for children and adults through Medi-Cal, but only when applied in specified settings. Many children, especially those in low-income communities, might more easily access these treatments in school-based programs or home visits by community health workers. By allowing fluoride varnish to be applied under the direction of a Medi-Cal provider in a variety of additional settings and expanding coverage to all children under 21, AB 350 removes barriers to preventive dental care.
AB 350 will:
- Require health insurance plans and Medi-Cal to cover fluoride varnish application for children under 21.
- Expand Medi-Cal coverage for fluoride varnish treatments in a variety of settings, such as school-based programs and home visits.
- Direct the Medi-Cal Dental Program to establish clear billing and reimbursement policies so that providers can efficiently offer these treatments.
By making fluoride treatments more accessible, AB 350 helps protect children from cavities, reduces the need for costly dental procedures, and improves overall health outcomes.
AB 350 passed in the Assembly and became a two-year bill in the Senate due to its projected costs.
Updated February 18, 2026