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As our industry faces challenges on multiple fronts, NADP continues to serve as our strategic partner through collaborative representation with the American Dental Association (ADA) and valuable association programs managed by our volunteer groups. On May 12, your NADP Board of Directors held its annual spring meeting via teleconference followed by a call with chairs and vice chairs that afternoon. On May 13, the Board held its annual meeting with the ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs (CDBP). As I listened to the discussion at all these meetings, I was amazed by the work NADP is doing on our behalf.

NADP Executive Director Eme Augustini shared the following statement via social media outlets regarding racial disparities in oral health. During NADP’s virtual Advocacy in Action event, NADP members discussed this issue with Members of Congress and provided examples of how their companies address racial disparities in oral health.

The NADP Government Relations Workgroup continues to monitor, analyze, and advocate on state legislation and regulations on behalf of the industry. The group’s main focus is currently on active legislation in New Jersey, as well as several regulatory issues in other states:

As the nation began to take steps to address COVID-19, NADP remained committed to supporting and informing dental carriers, dentists, consumers, and various stakeholders, including federal policymakers. NADP weighed in on several issues that were critical to the dental benefits industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

Three Survey Invitations Coming Your Way. Plan Your Participation with 2021 Survey Schedule . 2020 Financial Operations and Premium Report to be published. 2021 Dental Benefits Report: Benefit Utilization to be published soon

On May 18, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published guidance on the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) premium subsidies created by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), including further clarification of the inclusion…

On July 27, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Financial Services considered a number of bills around dental insurance, including bills on assignment of benefits, medical loss ratio, so-called “dental patient bill of rights,” and direct dental care agreements.

The Government Relations Workgroup (GRW) continues meeting regularly to review priority legislation and regulations affecting the dental benefits industry. The group will hold one more meeting in December and resume its twice a month meeting schedule in January.

Imagine the dental benefits industry, complete with quality measures, diagnostic terms, and abundant data to predict outcomes, guide plan designs and more. While this concept may seem unrealistic and futuristic, the reality is closer than you think, thanks to the work of NADP Terminology, Standards and Transaction (TST) Sub-Workgroups, which include:

Diagnostic Terminology Sub-WorkGroup (DT SWG)
DQA (Dental Quality Alliance) SWG
Codes SWG

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange (WHBE) Board will convene for a regularly scheduled meeting this Thursday and among other topics, will consider taking action on the addition of family dental benefits to the Marketplace.