Bill > H3424

This bill aims to ensure more equitable reimbursement rates for dental services provided to patients covered by publicly funded health programs, specifically MassHealth. It mandates that by January 1, 2016, the dental fee schedule for all MassHealth programs, including those for children and adults, must be indexed to the seventy-fifth percentile of the most current American Dental Association Survey of Dental Fees of General Practitioners, meaning reimbursement rates will be set at a level comparable to what 75% of general dentists charge. The bill also requires that all dental services covered as of January 1, 2009, must be included in this updated fee schedule, and it expands coverage for adults in the MassHealth Essential program to match the dental services previously covered for adults in the MassHealth Basic program as of January 1, 2002. Additionally, it seeks to include hospice services in the MassHealth Basic and Essential programs to the same extent they are covered in the MassHealth Standard program, where permissible under federal demonstration program rules.