UPDATED
SESSION OF 2019
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2307
As Amended by House Committee on Health
and Human Services

Brief*
HB 2307, as amended, would revise provisions of law
pertaining to contracts between a health insurer and a dentist
provider. Continuing law prohibits health insurers from setting
fees for services provided by dentist providers not covered by
a contract, issued or renewed after July 1, 2010, between the
insurer and the dentist provider. The bill would amend the
definition of “covered service” to exclude any service or
material that is covered or provided at a nominal or de
minimis rate.

Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Health and Human Services at the request of Representative
Eplee on behalf of the Kansas Dental Association. In the
House Committee hearing, a representative of the Kansas
Dental Association and three private citizen dentists provided
testimony in favor of the bill. The proponents generally stated
requiring an active response by a dentist provider to changes
in a contract between dentist providers and insurers would
give dentist providers more transparency regarding contract
changes. The proponents further stated current law does not
allow insurers to set the rate for a service if that service is not
covered by the insurer. Nationally, some insurers provide a
nominal rate for certain services, thereby meeting the
definition of a covered service and thus allowing an insurer to
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
set the rate for the service. Written-only proponent testimony
was provided by a private citizen dentist.
Opponent testimony was provided by a representative of
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and a representative
of America’s Health Insurance Plans and the National
Association of Dental Plans. Opponents generally stated if
health insurers are required to adopt an “opt-in” protocol for
changes in a contract between dentist providers and health
insurers, there will be dentists who get left out of the network
unintentionally and whose patients will have to find a different
dentist to get full coverage. Opponents also stated the bill
would limit access to discounts and negotiated rates for
dental services that benefit consumers. Written-only
opponent testimony was provided by a representative of Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.
The House Committee on Health and Human Services
amended the bill by deleting a provision requiring a dentist
provider to opt in to changes made to a contract between a
health insurer and a dentist provider. The House Committee
also amended the bill to exclude any service or material not
covered because of maximum coverage limitations from the
definition of what a covered service does not include.
The House Committee recommended the bill favorably
for passage, as amended, on February 25, 2019, but the bill
was withdrawn from the House Calendar and referred to the
House Committee on Appropriations on February 27, 2019.
The bill was then withdrawn from the House Committee on
Appropriations and rereferred to the House Committee on
Health and Human Services on March 6, 2019. The House
Committee again recommended the bill favorably for
passage, as amended, on March 13, 2019.
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Insurance
Department and the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment indicate enactment of the bill would have no
fiscal effect.

2- 2307


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 40-2, 40-4602
As Amended by House Committee: 40-2, 40-4602