Provides for the method of dental reimbursement or payments. (gov sig)

Senate Bill 192 amends Louisiana's dental insurance reimbursement statutes by establishing a formal written agreement requirement for electronic payment methods. The bill adds a definition of "express acceptance" to R.S. 22:1157(A)(6), defining it as a clear and direct written agreement between a dental plan and a dentist concerning payment methods that is explicitly communicated without ambiguity or implied consent. The bill then modifies R.S. 22:1157(D)(2) to require that when a dental plan initiates or changes payments to a dentist using electronic funds transfers or credit card payments, the plan must obtain the provider's express acceptance election for such payment methodology. Additionally, the bill adds R.S. 22:1157(D)(2)(4), which establishes that any violation of the express acceptance requirement nullifies any existing election on claim payment methodology and requires the execution of a new express acceptance agreement before payment methods can be changed or implemented.

Dental insurers and dental plan administrators are directly affected by this legislation, as they must now obtain formal, written express acceptance from dentist providers before implementing or modifying electronic funds transfer or credit card payment methods. Dentists are similarly affected as they gain explicit control over their claim payment methodology through a formalized written agreement process, preventing insurers from unilaterally changing payment methods or relying on implied consent. This requirement creates a procedural safeguard that gives dentist providers the ability to negotiate and formalize the terms under which they will receive electronic payments, rather than allowing plan administrators to implement such changes through informal means. The bill's enforcement mechanism ensures that if an insurer fails to obtain proper express acceptance, any attempted election of payment methodology becomes void and must be renegotiated, protecting dentists from non-consensual changes to their payment arrangements.

The legislation operates within the existing framework of R.S. 22:1157, which governs dental reimbursement or payments under Louisiana's insurance code. The bill preserves all existing law while adding procedural safeguards specific to electronic payment methods. The law applies prospectively to all new dental coverage policies, contracts, programs, or plans issued on or after January 1, 2027, while requiring existing plans in force before that date to conform to the new express acceptance requirements by their renewal date or January 1, 2028, whichever comes first. This transitional provision allows existing dental insurance arrangements to continue under their current terms until the applicable conversion date, preventing disruption to ongoing coverage while establishing the new written agreement protocol for future arrangements.