In a significant win for dental insurance reform, Gov. Newsom has signed CDA-sponsored legislation that delivers a long-sought change requiring all dental plans to honor a patient’s assignment of benefits requests and also improves oversight of increasingly strained dental plan networks.
AB 1629, authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), will provide enhanced flexibility for dental practices that choose to collect payment directly from dental plans for out-of-network treatment. The bill addresses a problem made worse by the narrowing of dental plan networks due to stagnant or reduced fees plans pay for services.
Bill reduces cost burdens that inhibit treatment acceptance
Requiring dental plans to honor a patient’s assignment of benefits ensures dentists have the option to receive payment directly rather than having to charge patients 100% of the treatment costs upfront. This will help reduce cost burdens that inhibit treatment acceptance, the timely delivery of care and patients’ use of already limited dental benefits.
AB 1629 also ensures patients receive clear and comprehensive information about the dentist’s network status, anticipated costs and potential financial responsibility before treatment.
AOB legislation has been ‘one of the biggest asks from CDA members’
“This is such a great win for our dental plan reform advocacy,” said CDA President Robert Hanlon, DMD. “Assignment of benefits legislation has been one of the biggest asks from CDA members, and we are thankful that lawmakers took meaningful action to address the growing inadequacy of dental plan networks. We greatly appreciate the hard work of Assemblymember Haney on this issue over the past two years and we commend Gov. Newsom for signing this bill into law.”
“California has spent years trying to rebuild dental access, and we should not turn around and make it harder for people to get care,” Assemblymember Haney said. “Families who rely on Medi-Cal should not lose ground, and families who pay for private dental coverage should not be forced to act like a bank for their insurance company just to see a dentist. If you pay for coverage, you should be able to use it.”
The bill also works to improve dental plan networks by giving state regulators, the California Department of Insurance and Department of Managed Health Care, a more complete picture of whether dental plans have enough dentists to serve all their enrollees. Nearly half of Californians with commercial dental coverage are in plans governed by federal ERISA law. These plans are not included in the current network adequacy assessments, preventing state regulators from seeing how the same provider network is used across the full patient population.
State will be able to identify overstretched or inadequate networks
AB 1629 requires dental insurance companies to report provider network information for all the dental plans they sell, enabling the state to identify overstretched or inadequate networks and assess whether patients can obtain timely care.
The bill’s provisions will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
In the Legislature, the bill passed on a 30-10 vote in the Senate, and a 62-5 vote in the Assembly, with only Republicans voting against it.
AB 1629 continues the work of the Fix Our Dental Insurance campaign, which shines a light on the many ways dental plans fail to provide meaningful coverage. This is the 12th CDA-sponsored bill signed into law in recent years as part of our continued advocacy to hold dental plans accountable and improve the value of benefits. CDA will keep members updated on our ongoing dental plan reform efforts.