California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill sponsored by the California Dental Association (CDA) that requires all dental plans to honor patients' assignment of benefits requests. The law, AB 1629, lets out-of-network dentists receive payment directly from dental plans instead of charging patients the full cost of treatment upfront.
AB 1629 also requires that patients receive clear information about a dentist's network status, anticipated costs, and potential financial responsibility before treatment begins. The provisions take effect January 1, 2027.
The law also targets network adequacy. Dental insurers must report provider network information for all the plans they sell, including those governed by the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ERISA plans cover nearly half of Californians with commercial dental coverage and are currently excluded from state network assessments. The California Department of Insurance and Department of Managed Health Care will use the data to identify overstretched networks and determine whether patients can get timely care.
AB 1629 is the 12th CDA-sponsored dental plan reform bill signed into law in recent years, CDA said. It follows SB 386, which ends dental plans' predatory use of virtual credit cards, as detailed in the CDA's dental plan reform recap.
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