Full Report: New Rules for Dental Insurance

The idea behind dental insurance is relatively straightforward. You pay the insurance company a certain amount every month; they agree to cover some of the costs of your dental care. But what happens if they’re collecting a lot more from those monthly premium payments than they’re paying out for treatment. Is that unfair? Or just part of the business model? And should the state get involved, perhaps by requiring dental insurers to spend a certain percentage of their monthly premiums on patient care — just as we already do for medical insurance? Voters will get to answer these questions in November as part of Ballot Question 2, which would set new rules for dental insurers, including a requirement that 83 cents of every dollar collected in premiums is spent on patients’ dental work. This 83 cent standard is referred to as the “loss ratio.” And as part of our mission to help voters understand state ballot questions, we have reviewed relevant research and spoken with a variety of experts about the potential impact a minimum loss ratio could have on dental insurance and care in Massachusetts.