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VDA Petition to DMAS to Be Compliant with Law and Implement a Medicaid Deferred Compensation Plan for Dentists
In an effort to encourage Virginia dentists to continue participating in the Smiles for Children Program (Dental Medicaid), legislation was introduced and passed at the VDA’s request during the 2014 legislative session (HB147/SB412). This measure required the implementation of a deferred compensation plan which would allow dental providers to defer a portion of their Medicaid reimbursement into a Virginia Retirement System (VRS) account.
The legislation had no opposition during the legislative process. The VDA leadership worked for many months prior to the 2014 session with VRS and other stakeholders to ensure the implementation of the plan would be successful. In the end there was not a single negative vote cast against the measure in the House of Delegates or Senate of Virginia as both bills were signed into law with an effective date of January 1, 2015. Since that time the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) has ignored the law and to our knowledge not made any effort to implement this plan. Therefore, the VDA has decided to submit a petition to DMAS prior to the law sunsetting on January 1, 2020.
The VDA’s petition states:
We petition the Department of Medical Assistance Services to implement the policy objectives of HB147/SB412 that passed unanimously during the 2014 General Assembly Session (and was signed by then-Governor McAuliffe). This legislation authorizes a Medicaid deferred compensation program for dental providers through the Virginia Retirement System but has yet to be implemented.
