Course Description:

Featuring Dr. Anthony Dillo, a general dentist from Peoria, Arizona, about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and Dr. Regina Cobb, Executive Director of the Arizona Dental Association. The discussion centers on how ERISA, originally intended to protect employees' retirement benefits, is now being utilized by insurance companies to preempt state laws and avoid direct payments to dentists, thereby forcing patients to pay upfront. The podcast highlights Arizona's efforts to pass an assignment of benefits law to counter this, and the potential impact of the Rutledge v. PCMA Supreme Court case, which limited ERISA's preemption in the pharmacy benefits sector. This legal precedent holds promise for dentists to challenge insurance companies and ensure patient access to care without incurring substantial upfront costs.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), initially for employee retirement protection, is now misused by insurance carriers to preempt state dental laws.
• Learn about the landmark Rutledge Supreme Court case, which limits ERISA's blanket preemption, thereby strengthening states' ability to enforce laws that protect local businesses and patients.
• Understand that current efforts to combat ERISA misuse focus on state Attorney Generals defending state assignment of benefit laws in court, leveraging the Rutledge precedent.
• Learn to inform employers about how their self-funded ERISA plans might negatively affect employee benefit utilization, encouraging contract adjustments.