Iowa Legislature passes fee-capping ban

Iowa is poised to become the latest state in the U.S. to ban dental fee capping after legislators last week passed a bill that would prohibit insurance companies from limiting fees for dental procedures they don't cover.

The Iowa House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved HF 2229, An Act Prohibiting the Imposition by a Dental Plan of Fee Schedules for the Provision of Dental Services that are not covered by the Plan. The bill passed by a vote of 98-1.

The bill was previously approved by the Iowa Senate, and now goes on to Gov. Chet Culver for his signature.

The bill's key provision reads, "A contract between a dental plan and a dentist for the provision of services to covered individuals under the plan shall not require that a dentist provide services to those covered individuals at a fee set by the dental plan unless such services are covered services under the dental plan."

Three bills dealing with fee capping also have been sent to the governors of South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington.

Rhode Island approved a similar law last June.

Fee-capping legislation is also being considered in other states, including Oklahoma, Virginia, Iowa, and Kansas.

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