00                            SENATE BILL NO. 258                                                                         
01 "An Act prohibiting health care insurers that provide dental care coverage from setting                                 
02 a minimum age for receiving dental care coverage, allowing those insurers to set a                                      
03 maximum age for receiving dental care coverage as a dependent, and prohibiting those                                    
04 insurers from setting fees that a dentist may charge for dental services not covered                                    
05 under the insurer's policy."                                                                                            
06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
07    * Section 1.  AS 21.42.392(a) is amended to read:                                                                  
08            (a)  A health care insurer who provides coverage for dental care may not                                     
09       include in the health care insurance plan or contract a provision that                                            
10                 (1)  prohibits a covered person from obtaining dental care services from                                
11       a dentist of the person's choice, including a specialist;                                                         
12                 (2)  restricts a covered person's right to receive full information from                                
13       the person's dentist regarding the care or treatment options that the dentist believes are                        

01       in the best interests of the person;                                                                          
02                 (3)  sets a minimum age for receiving dental care coverage; or                                      
03                 (4)  permits an insurer to limit a fee set by a dentist for a service                               
04       unless the service is covered under the insurer's plan or contract.                                           
05    * Sec. 2. AS 21.42.392(c) is amended to read:                                                                      
06            (c)  A health care insurer that provides coverage for dental care may                                    
07                 (1)  reimburse a covered person at a different rate because of the                                  
08       person's choice of a dentist if the dentist is not a part of the covered person's dental                          
09       network or preferred provider organization agreement; the [. THE] covered expense                             
10       for non-network providers may not be less than that allowed to a network provider,                                
11       although the covered expense may be reimbursed at a lower percentage or with higher                               
12       deductibles than if the service had been provided within the network; and                                     
13                 (2)  set the maximum age for a person to receive coverage for                                       
14       dental care as a dependent.