The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized a rule rescinding the requirement that dentists enroll in or validly opt-out of Medicare in order for prescriptions written for their Medicare beneficiary patients to be covered. The rule also revised Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage plans, and repealed a provision requiring dentists to be enrolled in Medicare in order to provide supplemental services to patients enrolled in Part C.

AGD actively pursued the removal of these enrollment requirements and lobbied CMS to finalize the rule in an effort to minimize interruptions to patients’ access to needed care and medications and relieve dentists of unnecessary regulatory burden.

Impact on General Dentistry: AGD successfully lobbied the Department of Health and Human Services and CMS to change enrollment requirements under Medicare Parts C and D and continues to advocate for the interests of its members.