Every year the American Dental Association has an annual meeting. They rotate which city will host it, and this year it was Washington DC's turn to play host. I, along with the rest of the board of the Utah Dental Association, took advantage of the location this year to visit with our state senators and congressmen to discuss some bills and resolutions that we are fighting for to improve dental coverage for our patients.
There are 3 bills/resolutions in particular that we are pushing. I'll give you a quick summary of each bill.
1- we are trying to repeal the McCarron Ferguson act that was passed 60 years ago. It gives insurance companies exemption from anti-trust laws. Basically insurance companies can collude to price fix and do other illegal things that end up hurting the patient. They don't have to play by the same rules as everyone else and we want the playing field leveled. Once this happens patients will see an increase in innovation and as a result their insurance benefits will improve, costs will shrink, and efficiency will improve.
2-we are seeking changes to the ERISA laws that were passed back in the 1970's. Long story short is that insurance companies are unfairly denying patients their rightful benefits at times, and when we try to prosecute them through the state insurance commission the insurance companies hide behind this federal law. An unintended consequence of the law is that it allows insurance companies to bully their patients and get away with it. We want our patients to rightfully receive the benefits they have been paying the insurance company for.
3-The federal government won't allow federal student loans to be refinanced more than once and are locking students into rates that are far above market value. We want this law changed to allow student loans to be treated more like mortgages are. After all, many dental students are now graduating with $450,000 in student loans. If a person has a home mortgage it can be refinanced multiple times to get a better interest rate. Student loans don't have that option unfortunately, and as a result they miss out on tremendous savings opportunities.
It's an uphill battle for all three but we have to try.
One thing that I learned from meeting with our representatives is that together we can accomplish our goals. Government may be slow and frustrating at times, but the best way to get stuff done is to work together.
