Delta Dental settles with California Dental Association, ending contentious legal battle
The California Dental Association (CDA) has reached an "unprecedented" settlement with Delta Dental in a case alleging breach of contract by the insurance giant. The settlement ends three years of contentious, complicated, and expensive litigation.
The suit centered on Delta Dental's actions to amend the Participating Dentist Agreement of its Premier plan, which dentists claimed was a breach of contract. Additional irregularities were allegedly uncovered during the course of the litigation. (1)
In a letter to association members posted March 7, CDA President Clelan Ehrler, DDS, MS, wrote, "I am very pleased to inform you that CDA has achieved a favorable and, in many respects, unprecedented settlement in our legal action against Delta Dental regarding its attempt to cut Premier Plan reimbursement fees."
In an article posted March 10, the American Dental Association (ADA) called the settlement "favorable" and provided details of the case for its members.
REFERENCES
California Dental Association achieves favorable settlement with Delta Dental. American Dental Association website. http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/march/california-dental-association-achieves-favorable-settlement-with-delta-dental?nav=news. Published March 10, 2017. Accessed April 7, 2017.
Editor's note: This article was updated on April 7. It had incorrectly stated that the lawsuit brought by dentists was in response to fee reductions.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY
Take that, Delta Dental! | By Chris Salierno, DDS
Editor's note: This article first appeared in the Apex360 e-newsletter. Apex360 is a DentistryIQ partner publication for dental practitioners and members of the dental industry. Its goal is to provide timely dental information and present it in meaningful context, empowering those in the dental space to make better business decisions. Subscribe to the Apex360 e-newsletter here.
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