Dental benefits and rate review. This bill, on and after January 1, 2024, would prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer that covers dental services, and a specialized health care service plan or health insurer that covers dental services, from issuing, amending, renewing, or offering a plan contract or policy that imposes a dental waiting period provision or preexisting condition provision, as defined, upon an enrollee or insured. On and after January 1, 2024, the bill also would require a health care service plan or health insurer to disclose, at the time of verification for patient eligibility, whether or not the enrollee’s or insured’s dental coverage is subject to regulation by the relevant department. Because a violation of these requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would include health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies covering dental services, and specialized health care service plan contracts and specialized health insurance policies covering dental services, within those provisions. The bill would retain the exclusion with respect to specialized health care service plan contracts and specialized health insurance policies that do not provide dental services. The bill would require the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance to establish the appropriate methodology, factors, and assumptions to determine whether a rate change for a specialized health care service plan contract or specialized health insurance policy covering dental services is unreasonable, or not justified, under the applicable requirements of the rate review provisions. By making specialized health care service plan contracts that provide dental services subject to these rate review provisions, the bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.