Recap of the 2022 ADA House of Delegates

The 17th District Delegation attending the 158th ADA in Houston.

By John Paul, DMD, FDA Second Vice President

October 18 saw the close of the 158th American Dental Association (ADA) House of Delegates and the culmination of the presidency of Dr. Cesar Sabates, the first president of the ADA from the state of Florida.

The 17th District Delegation to the ADA (Florida is one of five single-state delegations) traveled to Houston for the meeting. Your delegation was successful in making and passing two resolutions:

Resolution #517 closed a loophole allowing prospective members to receive services from the ADA. An important benefit when it took months to process an application, it was obsolete now that membership can be confirmed in less than a week. Some individuals were taking advantage of benefits without completing memberships, but the practice will now stop.

Important to all members of the ADA, Resolution #305 adopted as ADA policy that when third party payers (insurance companies) request any changes to existing contracts between dentists and the third

If a third party payer seeks to lease its network or start a new network, it should provide notice to the dentist 90 days in advance and obtain the dentist’s written consent to include the dentist in the new network.

Dr. Cesar Sabates addresses the 158th House of Delegates during the October ADA annual meeting in Houston, TX.*

party payer, it must be noticed at least 90 days before they are enacted and require the signature of the dentist to opt-in to agree to the new changes. Also, if a third party payer seeks to lease its network or start a new network, it should provide notice to the dentist 90 days in advance and obtain the dentist’s written consent to include the dentist in the new network.

While the resolution will not create a new law, it will set the standard for best practice and will serve as a guide for determining policy and future action.

The ADA House also voted in a new form of governance, the Strategic Forecasting Committee. Florida’s Dr. Tom Brown was integral in developing this group and will serve on the committee during its inaugural year. This, coupled with a new view on accounting called Mission-based accounting where expenses are reported as they relate to programs of the ADA, should help the association direct its spending to programs members find most important and useful.

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