2025 WDA Legislative Priorities

ENSURING PATIENTS CAN ACCESS AND USE THEIR DENTURE BENEFITS – Denturists in Washington State have struggled to get recognized by insurance companies.  Two laws in Washington already deal with how denturists should be treated by insurance companies.  RCW 48.43.280 states that if the person has a denture benefit and the benefit would have been paid for if a dentist did the work, the insurer must pay the denturist for the same work.  RCW 48.43.745 requires insurers covering dental to permit licensed denturists to provide the dental services within their scope even if they are a network plan.  Despite these laws, denturists are still fighting to be paid for their work by insurers, and patients with denture benefits are often paying out of pocket to get the work done by the professional they know and trust.

This year WDA is hoping to SUPPORT HB 1535/SB 5351 – Ensuring patient choice and access to care by prohibiting unfair and deceptive dental insurance practices. SB 1535/SB 5351 are important since they shine a light on issues within the dental insurance industry.  However, the bills must be amended to include denturists to ensure dental insurance works for all providers who perform the work within their scope and all patients can be assured of using their full dental benefits.

PRESERVE THE ADULT DENTAL MEDICAID PROGRAM – More than one million Washington adults are covered by Apple Health. We know from experience that reducing or eliminating the program has dire consequences for enrollees, and it takes years to rebuild the program after it is restored. Medicaid adult dental was cut in 2011. By the time it was restored in 2014, many patients faced an accumulation of costly, severe problems, including long-term pain, broken teeth, tooth abscesses, unnecessary extractions, and gum disease. In addition, while low-income patients without a dental benefit were able to get problem teeth removed in emergency rooms, they were given no means to replace their missing teeth, such as with dentures.

Proper dental care and replacement of missing teeth through dentures is often a key to helping people feel confident to obtain and keep employment.  This confidence and ability to get a job can help them move off Medicaid in the future. We also need consistent adult dental coverage to ensure providers can participate in the program and maintain the stability of our community health center system. A comprehensive Apple Health adult dental benefit is also critical for the sustainability of dental education programs needed to address our workforce challenges.

 

GROW THE DENTURIST WORKFORCE – It is important that the Legislature look to sustain and increase the dental workforce.  This includes funding of the denturist training program at Bates Technical College and  and inclusion of denturist pathways with other dental training programs.  Students looking to get into the dental field should be able to seamlessly choose denturism as an option for their professional career. In addition, encouraging more dental focused CTE in our high schools that includes the pathways to pursue a denturist degree/license, will help expand this important career in our state and improve access to care for Washingtonians.

Washington Denturist Association PAC

YOUR ACTION NEEDED TODAY: AN INVESTMENT IN THE WASHINGTON DENTURIST POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE IS AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR BUSINESS’ SURVIVAL!

 
WDA has had past legislative successes.  We expanded the denturist scope to include teeth whitening trays and snore guards.  We worked to reinstate the Adult Dental Medicaid Program after it was cut and have been a core part of the team working to protect it.  We also passed a bill that requires stand-alone dental insurance plans to include denturists in their networks. Now we need to work on reducing fees for denturists, continue expansion and payments for those working with dental Medicaid patients, and we need to increase state investment in training new denturists. This is going to require a Legislature made of people who know who denturists are and who support denturists as dental providers. This means the 2024 elections are a key!  Our entire Washington State House of Representatives is up for re-election, and half of our state’s Senate. Add that to over a dozen legislative retirements and vacancies, as well as open seats in the statewide races for Governor and Insurance Commissioner.  We have a lot of work to help get denturist supporters elected!   Why is this important? Denturists have been fighting – and winning – here in Washington to be recognized major players in the dental community. From the originating initiative in 1994 to expanding our scope of practice in 2013, we have accepted the political challenges of our profession and had success. It is this grassroots and patient support combined with our willingness to pool our funds to achieve our goals that has gotten the attention of our state’s legislators.   No one gets elected without financial assistance and the WDA Political Action Committee (WDPAC) helps get the attention of candidates before they are elected. Therefore, we are urging you to contribute TODAY to the Washington Denturist Political Action Committee (WDPAC).  Checks can be made out to: 
WDA PAC  C/O Northwest Dental  2710 Meridian St.  Bellingham, WA 98225
This is a request that should not be ignored. Instead, it should be viewed as a key investment in the success and survival of your business – since politics and government oversee everything your business does. The WDPAC is the easiest way for you to get involved in what government is doing.  Most health care provider groups have PACs and many of them are very well-funded – particularly the Dentists. While WDA may not be able to get to the $400,000 plus of the Dentist PAC, we can get to an amount that will enable us to make sure Denturist supporters are sitting in legislative offices in 2025. The more Denturist supporters are elected, the easier it will be to get the insurance changes and other protections needed to keep Denturists as a vital and valuable health care provider in Washington!  Writing a check is the easiest form of political action there is – and it can have the most impact when combined through a political action committee to help elect people who would vote as you would vote if you were in Olympia!   So please write that check for $100, $500, $1000 or even more. No contribution is too small, and no contribution is too big.