PDA’s Top Five Advocacy Goals for the 2011/2012 Legislative Session

PDA is the premier dental organization at the forefront of legislative initiatives to improve the dental practice environment in Pennsylvania for both dentists and patients. The legislative session, which commences on January 19, allows PDA two years in which to advocate on members’ behalf for these important insurance reforms, and scope of practice and access to care initiatives:

  1. Prohibiting insurers from capping non-covered services. PDA is lobbying for legislation that would prohibit insurance companies from capping services that they are not covering under their dental plans. It is fundamentally unfair for an insurer to dictate fees on procedures they have arbitrarily decided not to cover.
  2. Coverage of general anesthesia when needed to treat at-risk patients. Passage of this legislation would ensure that insurance companies cover all associated medical expenses when administering general anesthesia to patients under the age of seven or those any patient developmentally disabled for whom a successful result cannot be expected unless they receive general anesthesia.
  3. Assignment of benefits. PDA is advocating for the rights of patients by allowing them to assign their insurance benefit for a covered service to any willing dental provider of their choosing. '
  4. Medical Assistance reforms. PDA’s goal is to work with newly-elected Governor Tom Corbett’s administration and the General Assembly to enact meaningful reforms that remove financial and administrative barriers for dentists participating in the Medical Assistance program.
  5. Maintaining the use of dental amalgam as a viable option for patients. PDA will respond to any initiative at the state or city level to limit the ability for dentists to recommend the use of dental amalgam as a safe and effective option for patients seeking restorative care.

While PDA takes a focused approach in limiting its primary advocacy efforts to these five issues, these other issues will be monitored and addressed on an as-needed basis:

  1. Limiting the timeframe in which insurers may retroactively deny dental claims.
  2. Protecting the current dental team model and patients’ safety by limiting or restricting the unsupervised practice of non-dentists. 
  3. Restoring funding in the Dental Lifeline Network’s Donated Dental Service program.
  4. Providing incentives to dentists to practice in Pennsylvania, particularly underserved areas (i.e. tax breaks and health care practitioner student loan forgiveness)
  5. Promoting oral health literacy programs to improve Pennsylvanians’ oral health.
  6. Expanding duties for certified dental assistants.
  7. Protecting dentists’ rights should the state require them to carry malpractice insurance.
  8. Supporting the dental schools’ initiative to attract more dentists to serve as faculty.
  9. Advocating for community water fluoridation to prevent oral disease.
  10. Providing healthy beverage and snack options in Pennsylvania schools
  11. Exempting dentists and dental staff from having to wear identification badges in private dental offices.
  12. Representing dentists’ interests with legislation allowing dentists to apply volunteer time in a community-based clinic toward continuingeducation requirements.
  13. Representing dentists’ interests as the state implements PHIX, the electronic exchange of medical and dental records.
  14. Coordination of benefits so the employed spouses receive their full benefit structure under both insurances.

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