SB296 Alabama 2015 Session

Updated Feb 24, 2026

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Paul Bussman
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2015
Title: Dental services, certain health insurance policies and health maintenance organizations plans, setting fees for services not covered by the plan, prohibited
Summary: SB296 stops dental plans from forcing dentists to charge plan-set prices for dental services that aren’t covered by the plan.
What This Bill Does
If a new health or dental plan is issued after the act’s effective date, the plan cannot require a dental provider to bill a covered person at a price set by the plan for services that are not covered. The bill also keeps existing restrictions the insurer can place on covered services, like balance billing, waiting periods, frequency limits, deductibles, and yearly maximums. It also provides an exemption for certain corporations and specifies when the act takes effect.

Who It Affects
Dental care providers (dentists) — are not required to charge patients the plan’s price for non-covered dental services.
Policyholders/covered persons (patients) — may not be billed at a plan-set price for non-covered dental services and may be charged at the provider’s own rate or as otherwise allowed by the policy for covered services.

Key Provisions
Section 1 defines key terms: covered person, covered services, dental care provider, dental plan, and insurance policy/plan/contract.
Section 2 prohibits new policies/plans issuing after the act’s effective date from requiring a dental care provider to provide services to a covered person at a fee set by the policy unless the services are covered.
Section 3 preserves the insurer’s ability to restrict balance billing, waiting periods, frequency limitations, deductibles, and maximum annual benefits for covered services.
Section 4 provides an exemption for certain corporations described in Article 6 of Chapter 20 of Title 10A, and for policies/plans/contracts with those corporations, from the act.
Section 5 states the act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after it is passed and approved by the Governor.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Health