AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Maine legislators are considering a law change to try to make dental insurance a better value for consumers in the state.
The proposal is based on the Affordable Care Act rule that requires health insurers to have an 80% medical loss ratio. That means the insurers spend 80 cents of every dollar on customers claims and on items that improve care quality, lawmakers said.
The ACA does not require the same standard for dental insurance. Democratic Maine Sen. Heather Sanborn has proposed a bill to try to change that. The Maine Senate unanimously passed the bill on Tuesday.
Sanborn’s proposal tasks the Maine Bureau of Insurance to collect data about dental plans in the state and find out who is not meeting the 80% standard. Plans that do not would be required to submit an improvement plan, supporters of the bill said.
