Legislative Session number- 82

Bill Name: SF0644

Relating to health; creating a dental education account in the general fund,
requiring use by the commissioner of health to establish a loan forgiveness
program for dentists agreeing to provide services for state public assistance
program participants and for certain other low to moderate income uninsured
patients, specifying eligibility requirements and loan forgiveness conditions,
imposing a penalty for nonfulfillment of the service commitment, authorizing
commissioner suspension or waiver of the obligation under certain conditions;
requiring and providing for commissioner of human services grants to programs
providing donated dental services to low income uninsured individuals,
specifying certain grant eligibility requirements and requiring commissioner
annual reports to the legislature, specifying certain report content
requirements; making permanent the prospective payment system for dental
services under the medical assistance (MA), general assistance medical care and
MinnesotaCare programs, requiring commissioner selection of a single dental plan
for contracting purposes; exempting dental services providers from the
requirement for medical care vendor participation in the medical assistance,
GAMC and MinnesotaCare programs as a condition of participation in state or
public employees health insurance plans or programs; excluding dental services
from managed care contract requirements under the medical assistance prepayment
demonstration project, authorizing the commissioner to contract on a prospective
per capita payment basis for or to establish and administer a fee for service
system for the reimbursement of dental services; increasing medical assistance
payment rates for dental services; granting dentists providing dental services
without compensation immunity from liability under the good samaritan law for
acts or omissions in providing the services, exceptions; appropriating money to
the commissioner of health for the loan forgiveness program and to the
commissioner of human services for the dental services grants and for the
increase in dental services payment rates (mk)