Colorado Code § 10-16-165

Dental coverage plans - dental loss ratio - rules - definitions
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(1) As used
in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Community benefit expenditure" means an expenditure for an activity or program,
or to an organization that seeks to achieve the objectives of improving access to dental services
and enhancing dental public health. This includes an activity that:
(I) Is available broadly to the public and serves low-income consumers;
(II) Reduces geographic, financial, or cultural barriers to accessing dental services, and,
if the activity ceased to exist, would result in access problems;
(III) Addresses oral health workforce shortages, such as advancing education and
training of oral health professionals; or
(IV) Leverages or enhances dental public health activities.
(b) "Dental coverage plan" means a health coverage plan that includes coverage for the
costs of dental care services. "Dental coverage plan" includes a plan issued by a prepaid dental
plan organization that has a certificate of authority to operate pursuant to part 5 of this article 16.
(c) (I) "Dental loss ratio" means the percentage of premium dollars collected each year
for a dental coverage plan that the dental coverage plan incurs on dental services provided to an
enrollee, separate from overhead and administrative costs.
(II) The dental loss ratio is calculated by dividing the numerator by the denominator,
where:
(A) The numerator is the sum of the amount incurred for clinical dental services
provided to enrollees, the amount incurred on activities that improve dental care quality, and the
amount of claims payments identified through fraud reduction efforts; and
(B) The denominator is the total amount of premium revenue, excluding federal and
state taxes, licensing and regulatory fees paid, nonprofit community benefit expenditures, and
any other payments required by federal law.
(2) (a) The commissioner shall define by rule:
(I) Expenditures for clinical dental services;
(II) Activities that improve dental care quality;
(III) Overhead and administrative cost expenditures; and
(IV) Nonprofit community benefit expenditures that are aligned with exclusion
parameters and limits outlined in 45 CFR 158.162; except that the commissioner shall ensure
that only expenditures that improve access to dental services or enhance dental health, and no
overhead or administrative costs, are reported under this section.
(b) The definitions promulgated by rule pursuant to this section must be consistent with
similar definitions that are used for the reporting of medical loss ratios by carriers offering health
benefit plans in the state. Overhead and administrative costs must not be included in the
numerator as described in subsection (1)(c)(II)(A) of this section.
(3) (a) On or before July 31, 2024, and on or before July 31 each year thereafter, a
carrier that issues, sells, renews, or offers a dental coverage plan shall file a dental loss ratio
form electronically with the division for the preceding calendar year in which dental coverage
was provided by the dental coverage plan. The commissioner may create a new reporting form or
use an existing reporting form to facilitate data collection. The commissioner shall ensure that
fields are reported consistently by carriers. The filing must:
(I) Report the calculated dental loss ratio according to the formula in subsection
(1)(c)(II) of this section;
(II) Separately report each data element described in subsection (1)(c) of this section;
(III) Report additional data that includes the number of enrollees, the plan cost-sharing
and deductible amounts, the annual maximum coverage limit, and the number of enrollees who
meet or exceed the annual coverage limit;
(IV) Report data by market segment and product type, as defined by rule of the
commissioner; and
(V) Be in a form and manner as prescribed by rule of the commissioner.
(b) For the report to be submitted on or before July 31, 2024, a carrier shall also submit
the information required in subsection (3)(a) of this section for the plan years 2021 through
2024.
(c) If the commissioner deems that data verification of a carrier's dental loss ratio for a
dental coverage plan is necessary, the commissioner shall give the carrier at least thirty days'
notification prior to beginning the verification process with the carrier.
(d) (I) By January 1 of the year after the division receives the dental loss ratio
information collected pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section, the division shall make the
information, including the aggregate dental loss ratio and the data reported pursuant to
subsections (3)(a)(II) and (3)(a)(III) of this section, available to the public in a searchable format
on a public website that allows members of the public to compare dental loss ratios among
carriers by plan type by:
(A) Posting the information on the division's website; or
(B) Providing the information to the administrator of the all-payer health claims database
established pursuant to section 25.5-1-204. If the division provides the information to the
administrator, the administrator shall make the information available to the public in a format
determined by the division.
(II) The division shall report the data in subsection (3)(a) of this section and, if available,
subsection (4)(a) of this section to the general assembly during the "State Measurement for
Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" hearings held pursuant
to part 2 of article 7 of title 2.
(4) (a) Once the division has collected the data pursuant to subsection (3) of this section
for two calendar years, the commissioner shall promulgate rules that create a process to identify
any carriers that significantly deviate from average dental loss ratios and to investigate the
causes of the deviation. Such process shall include:
(I) Calculating an average dental loss ratio for each market segment using aggregate data
for a three-year period, consisting of data for the dental loss ratio reporting year that is being
reported and the data for the two prior dental loss ratio reporting years;
(II) Identifying as outliers the dental coverage plans that fall outside of a set number of
standard deviations from the average dental loss ratio, as determined by rule of the commissioner
based on review of the data and consideration of the impact of nonprofit community benefit
expenditures on any outlier calculation.
(b) The commissioner may apply more restrictive standard deviation metrics over time
to prevent declines in the average dental loss ratio in a market segment and may establish by rule
additional criteria for use in identifying outliers.
(5) (a) The commissioner may enforce compliance with the reporting requirements in
this section and impose a penalty or remedy against a person who violates this section.
(b) The commissioner may investigate or take enforcement actions against carriers that
are determined to be outliers pursuant to subsection (4) of this section and rules adopted pursuant
to said subsection (4) and impose a penalty or remedy against a person who violates this section.
(6) The commissioner may promulgate rules to implement this section.

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