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H.1110/S.698: An act relative to Dental Insurance Assignment of Benefits
- Assignment of Benefits (AOB) is an agreement between patient and dentist specifying that the insurance company will pay the dentist directly without the patient having to pay for treatment up-front and entirely out of pocket.
- Not all insurance companies will recognize the AOB agreement between the patient and his or her dentist. By changing their policies to only pay the patient and not the dentist (provider), insurance companies force patients to pay for their entire care up-front. This practice makes many procedures unaffordable and drives a wedge between the patient and dentist.
- In many cases, insurance companies will only pay benefits to a provider if they sign a contract to go “in-network” with an insurance company and agree to slash their reimbursement by up to 40 or 50% of the usual and customary rates of payment for a given procedure. While many patients search for the lowest cost dental care possible, many patients would like to choose the best dentist they can find including dental specialists that are highly trained and use the most up-to- date technology. All patients should have this choice, not only those from high-income brackets.
- Legislation protecting the AOB agreements between patients and dentists from manipulation by insurance companies would serve as a way to level the playing field between patients, independent practitioners, and massive insurance companies.