wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2522 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that:
Access to preventive dental care is essential to maintaining oral health and overall health and preventing the progression of oral disease that requires more invasive, costly treatment;
Untreated oral health issues are strongly linked to systemic health conditions, such as diabetes, early-onset Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy complications, and respiratory illness. By improving access to early preventive intervention, progression of these chronic conditions can be mitigated, and the long-term health of Washington patients is improved; and
Recent federal actions propose removing or restricting fluoride, including the federal food and drug administration's consideration of pulling ingestible fluoride supplements for children and efforts to scale back community water fluoridation. National dental leaders from the American dental association and the American academy of pediatric dentistry have warned that such policies would unravel decades of public health progress and disproportionately harm vulnerable populations. Yet, at the same time these federal actions are being considered, some dental benefit carriers continue to impose age, frequency, and other limitations on coverage for preventive dental care even when patient benefit dollars remain available. These combined federal and private sector actions create unnecessary barriers to essential preventive dental services, such as fluoride application, placement of sealants, and oral cancer screenings.
Therefore, the legislature seeks to improve access to preventive dental care by requiring carriers to cover preventive dental services, regardless of age or other limitation, to promote the prevention of oral disease as well as improve equity and systemic health.
The treating dentist, in consultation with the covered person, shall determine preventive dental services that are medically necessary and appropriate, consistent with, or not to exceed, the established, or recognized, standard of care. A health carrier offering a dental only plan may not restrict or override such determinations by imposing age restrictions or frequency limitations.
When a health carrier offering a dental only plan requires an adjunctive service for reimbursement of a separate preventive dental service, the health carrier must reimburse the provider for both services provided.
For purposes of this section:
"Health carrier," in addition to the definition in RCW 48.43.005, also includes health care service contractors, limited health care service contractors, and disability insurers offering dental only coverage; and
"Preventive dental services" includes dental prophylaxis, application of fluoride varnish, placement of sealants, oral hygiene instruction, application of silver diamine fluoride, application of nano-hydroxyapatite, preventive resin restoration, and oral cancer screenings.