AN ACT relating to dental benefit plans.

Dental patients gain payment protections

Beginning January 1, 2026, these Kentucky protections apply to dental policies issued or renewed on or after that date. You can choose to have your insurer pay your dental provider directly. You and your provider must sign the form established by Kentucky’s insurance commissioner through regulation. Your provider must submit it with information needed to check coverage or process the claim. The insurer must pay for covered services using the same payment rules and schedule as payments to you. The form must explain that your provider may be out-of-network and that assigning payments is optional. It must also warn that you may owe costs for uncovered services or covered costs the plan does not pay. Providers must notify you within 30 days after a credit balance appears on your account. They must refund it within 30 days of your request, unless you agree otherwise in writing. If you pay first and your provider later receives insurance payment under an assignment, a refund is due within 30 days. You and your provider can agree otherwise in writing. You can cancel the assignment by writing to your insurer, without your provider’s consent. Cancellation takes effect when the insurer receives it and covers only charges from that date onward. The insurer must promptly send your provider a dated, time-stamped copy. The law preserves insurers’ authority over plan benefits and negotiated provider rates, except where it conflicts with these protections.