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DENVER, CO – The Health and Human Services Committee today passed legislation to support dental care providers and streamline patient access by improving health care insurance transparency and fairness. HB26-1070 passed the committee by 10-1.
“Dental health is critical to our overall health. We’re working to ensure patients have access to updated insurance information and dental care providers are treated fairly by insurance companies,” said Rep. Kyle Brown, D-Louisville. “HB26-1070 is good for patients, reduces administrative burdens and protects our local dentists’ businesses that serve our communities. Specifically, this bill cuts red tape for dentists and dental hygienists, giving them more agency to choose what insurance networks they work with. Without this bill, patients and providers will continue to be met with confusing and inconsistent insurance information, which makes it more difficult for patients to receive this critical health care.”
HB26-1070, also sponsored by Representative Anthony Hartsook, R-Parker, would protect dental providers and improve transparency and fairness in the health insurance contracting process. In Colorado, when a dental provider enters into a negotiated contract with a dental insurance carrier, the carrier often rents providers’ services to other insurance carriers without the provider's consent and without informing patients of the change. This practice adds strain on dental providers as they try to keep up with changes to their contract terms that are out of their control. Providers and patients are burdened by this inconsistent and confusing practice.
Patients in Colorado have reported receiving contradictory information from their provider and their insurer as a result of these unfair trade practices by insurance companies, and this bill seeks to protect both providers and patients. This bill would improve insurance transparency by requiring consent from a dental provider before a health care insurance carrier rents out their services. Without HB26-1070, patients will continue to face confusing coverage changes and providers will be unable to have a say in their in-network status.