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By:  Keffer of Dallas                                             H.B. No. 3271



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to dental care insurance benefit plans.                              
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 1451.204 is amended as follows:                            
	SECTION 1451.204  Certain Conduct Permitted                                    

(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, a 
dentist may contract directly with a patient to provide dental care 
services to the patient as authorized by law.

(b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, a 
person providing a health insurance policy or employee benefit plan 
or an employer or an employee organization may:
	(1)  make information available to its insureds, 
beneficiaries, participants, employees, or members regarding 
dental care services through the distribution of factually accurate 
information about dental care services and the rates, fees, 
locations, and hours for the services if the information is 
distributed on the request of a dentist;
	(2)  establish an administrative mechanism to facilitate 
payments for dental care services from an insured, beneficiary, 
participant, employee, or member to a dentist chosen by the 
insured, beneficiary, participant, employee, or member; or
	(3)  nondiscriminatorily pay or reimburse its insured, 
beneficiary, participant, employee, or member for the cost of 
dental care services provided by a dentist chosen by the insured, 
beneficiary, participant, employee, or member.

(c)  An employee benefit plan or health insurance policy may use 
any of the following terms, or words of similar import, to describe 
the fact that the employee benefit plan or health insurance policy 
utilizes contracting provider dentists and noncontracting provider 
dentists:  preferred provider arrangement, preferred provider 
organization, network arrangement, in-network services, 
out-of-network services, or participating provider organization.
	SECTION 2.  Amend subchapter E, Chapter 1451, Insurance Code 
by adding a new Section 1451.208 to read as follows:
	SECTION 1451.208  Applicability of Other Laws                           

An employee benefit plan or health insurance policy for dental 
services under this subchapter shall not be subject to Section 
1503.003, as added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274 § 3, of this 
code.
	SECTION 3.  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary 
for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005 and 
shall apply to all policies issued or delivered on or after the 
effective date of this Act.