Legislative Action

Dental Loss Ratio (DLR), sometimes referred to as Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), ensures that dental plans are more transparent and accountable to the patients they serve. This regulation requires dental insurance companies to spend at least 83% of patient premium dollars on patient care. After winning a landslide victory at the ballot box in November 2022, the legislation was passed into law on April 12, 2024, and dental insurers will begin reporting their data to the Massachusetts Department of Insurance (DOI) in 2025.

MDS Legislative Agenda:

As previously reported, the following bills were sent to a “study order” and are not expected to progress further this year; House Bill 1122 (Non-Covered Services), House Bill 1123 (Patients First Act) House Bill 1124 (Assignment of Benefits). The Government Affairs Committee will review these bills over the summer as we begin to plan our legislative agenda for 2025.

On a positive note, House Bill 3880 (foreign trained dentists) and House Bill 300 (dental diversion) have been released favorably by the Committee on Health Care Finance, further advancing their progress in the House of the Representatives. 

Although we do not believe the bills will incur any cost to the Commonwealth, they have been assigned to the House Committee on Ways and Means, which is often used as procedural gatekeeper. The bills will need to pass the House before being considered by the Senate.

See to a complete summary of all legislation filed by the MDS.

Mid-Level Providers:

Senate Bill 2740:  An Act to improve oral health for all Massachusetts residents (dental therapists). This is the current version of the “Mid-Level Provider” bill that was sent to study order in the last legislative cycle the was released from committee on April 22 and is active in the Senate.   Government Affairs staff will continue to monitor this legislation closely and provide updates to our members. 

Question 2/ MLR Regulations

On April 4, the Division of Insurance (DOI) released the regulation to implement M.G.L. c. 176X, created under Chapter 287 of the Acts of 2022 (Question 2)

The regulation was filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State and officially published on April 12, 2024, making it law. Dental insurers are required to begin reporting in January 2025. The final regulations may be found here.

The Division of Insurance also conducted a special examination in 2023 for the purpose of understanding the market for dental insurance in Massachusetts. The report from this examination summarizes dental coverage as of 2022 and compares it to the results of a prior examination which presented information as of 2012. Review the report.

Beacon Hill Day:

The Committee has decided unanimously to plan for a Beacon Hill Day on Wednesday June 4, 2025.

January 2025 will mark the beginning of a new two-year legislative cycle, following the upcoming Fall elections. Newly elected officials will take office, committees will be re-organized and the MDS will have filed an updated legislative agenda.

Visiting the Statehouse this early in the session allows our members the greatest opportunity to advocate for our agenda early in the process. The plan is to meet at the Statehouse where we will have presentations from both MDS leaders and elected officials before meeting with Representatives and Senators.

Although formal sessions of the House and Senate are not typically announced until one or two weeks prior, we expect that the Statehouse will be active as Committees begin to meet to review legislation. We will continue to keep our members informed as we develop our agenda for the day and our plan for registration.

In future years Beacon Hill Day would take place in alternating years in the Spring of the first year of the legislative calendar (2025, 2027, 2029). Please be assured that even with this alternating-year plan the Government Affairs Committee will continue to work year-round to advocate year-round and keep our members informed of how they remain involved.

Do not hesitate to contact Dan DiTullio, Director of Government Affairs with any questions.

 **When a bill receives a "study order," it means the bill is unlikely to move forward during the remainder of the legislative session, and the issue will need to be readdressed by filing a bill in the next legislative session.