Thursday, Mar 23, 2017

CDA achieves favorable outcome in Delta Dental case

CDA’s long legal battle against Delta Dental has resulted in a settlement with significant concessions from the dental benefit plan. Filed in 2013, the legal action stems from CDA’s relentless determination to do what’s right for members after learning of Delta’s intention to cut Premier Provider reimbursement rates by 8 to 12 percent.

CDA recently announced that there is now a formal proposed settlement agreement on behalf of all California dentists who served as Delta Dental Premier Providers any time between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2016. Key settlement outcomes include the following:

As part of the settlement agreement, the litigation has been restated in a class action complaint and members will have 45 days from the mailing of the legal notice to object and/or opt out of the class action, if desired. The court hearing for final approval of the settlement is expected to occur by the end of April.

After the court approves the class and the notice, any questions regarding the notice or the proposed settlement, including the amount dentists may be eligible to receive under the proposed settlement (subject to appropriate confidentiality limitations), should be directed to the class notice administrator. Delta Dental hired Rust Consulting to administer the settlement after it is approved by the court and a website will be established at deltadentalofcaliforniasettlement.com.

For more information, including a settlement summary, visit cda.org/delta or call CDA at 800.232.7645.