Someone is always watching, listening, observing and calculating the next move. That someone is the CDA.
The CDA works behind the scenes and in front of the curtain, yet few members truly know what the CDA does every week to protect their practices and advocate for their futures. Second only to our battles at the state Capitol and in regulatory hearings, the CDA’s biggest challenge is making sure dentists know the power of their membership and what the CDA does with their investment in organized dentistry.
Keep reading — there are critical things you need to know. This article was written April 1 — 78 days into the Colorado legislative session — so some of the updates below may have changed.
Insurance Reform
Proactively, CDA pursued insurance reform legislation this year through House Bill 1070 to address the practice of network leasing (also known as “umbrella plans”) by dental insurance carriers. Network leasing is an arrangement where one insurance carrier agrees to share/lease its dentist network, or a portion of it, with another carrier. This can happen without the informed knowledge or consent of the dentist and can create confusion for dentists and patients, ultimately interrupting patient care. CDA’s bill will require explicit, separate opt-in consent from a dentist to allow a dental insurance carrier to use network leasing. It will also require clear disclosure on this matter from dental insurance companies to dentists and patients. At the time of publication, the bill has passed overwhelmingly out of the House of Representatives and the Senate and will be going to the Governor for signature.
Medical Debt Collection
The CDA successfully defeated legislation that would have put unreasonable requirements on dental offices regarding medical debt collection. House Bill 1267 would have made it extremely difficult to collect on debt derived in a healthcare setting. While intended for patient protection from major medical debt, this bill would have created overly restrictive and cumbersome requirements, especially for smaller provider types such as dental offices. The CDA shared its deep concerns with this proposal and worked with our lobbyists to share this opposition with legislators. Due to these lobbying efforts and thanks to CDA members and Trustees, Drs. Jillian Horkan and Allison Lesko, who testified in opposition, House Bill 1267 was killed in the House Health and Human Services Committee Mar. 31.
Dental Licensure Requirements
The CDA was taken aback not once but twice at the beginning of the legislative session by two bills that proposed to essentially remove the uniform requirement for CODA-accredited training to obtain a dental license in Colorado. Upon knowledge of these separate bills, the CDA immediately went into defense mode to preserve the educational standards and requirements for licensure and public safety. After many hours of work by the CDA Government Relations Council, CDA Director of Government Relations Lauren Harvey and our three lobbyists, the CDA was successful in defeating a proposal from the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), which would have given authority to DORA or a professional board to license internationally trained professionals without meeting the statutory requirements for that profession — like CODA-accredited education for dentistry. Several CDA members testified against the DORA proposal at the state Capitol in March, which led to its failure in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
Dr. Jeff Kahl testified at the committee hearing and said that while the proposal may have been well-intentioned, “it does not reflect the reality of the dental profession and the uniform educational requirements that protect patient safety. The standard for dental education in the U.S. is accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation known as CODA.”
Dr. Krithika Baskaran, director of the Advanced Standing International Student Program at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine and an associate professor of Restorative Dentistry also testified against this recommended proposal from DORA. Dr. Baskaran is an internationally trained dentist and completed an Advanced Standing Program in the U.S. to obtain a dental license. Based on her direct experiences, she stated, “I am an internationally trained dentist, and I received a dental degree from India. In India, there are over 300 dental schools, and the dental education and skills provided can be quite different depending upon the Indian dental school attended. There is no uniform international standard for dental education — not globally and not even within individual countries. CODA provides the only reliable and consistent standard to ensure that every dentist practicing in Colorado is trained to the same level of safety, competency and patient care expectations.”
Dr. Kevin Patterson, immediate past president of the CDA, also testified and explained where the CDA stands on these matters: “I would like to be very clear; the Colorado Dental Association is not opposed to licensure through the Occupational Credential Portability Program. We support thoughtful, well-structured portability pathways that recognize qualified professionals while maintaining public safety. What we strongly oppose is granting DORA the authority to override existing, profession-specific statutes and rules, particularly those enacted by this legislature to govern healthcare licensure. During the 2025 Dental Sunset Review process, similar authority was proposed and was overwhelmingly rejected by both the House and the Senate. This legislative decision should be respected.”
After hearing these strong testimonies from CDA member dentists, the House Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously to remove the proposed recommendation from this Sunset bill and keep intact the currently existing uniform requirements for licensure that all applicants for licensure are expected to meet.
The CDA was successful in preventing this harmful change in DORA’s bill through the effort above. The CDA will also engage on another proposed bill, yet to be introduced at the time of publication, that would attempt to make the exact same concerning change around licensure requirements, allowing DORA or a professional board to consider alternative standards for licensure. The CDA will continue to advocate strongly on this important issue, to ensure legislators understand the negative impact to patient safety and the standards required for safe and quality dental care.
Colorado Dental Practice Act Rulemaking
While the Sunset Review of the Colorado Dental Practice Act legislation passed in 2025, substantial rulemaking must still occur in 2026. CDA member dentists, CDA Executive Director Molly Pereira and CDA Government Relations Director Lauren Harvey have met with DORA on several occasions to ensure the best interests of dentists and their patients are represented.
The CDA has worked very closely with the Colorado Dental Hygienists’ Association (CODHA) and other stakeholders to ensure all voices are heard, issues are discussed and recommendations are presented with a united front whenever possible.
Most recently, the CDA, working in step with CODHA, petitioned DORA to split its rulemaking into two phases to allow for a more careful review of stakeholder comments and Colorado Dental Board evaluation. These negotiations were successful and rulemaking will be conducted in the following two phases:
April 30 rulemaking hearing (if adopted on April 30, the rules will go into effect on June 30 for these sections):
• 1.4 Definitions
• 1.6 Licensure
• 1.7 Permissible Practice Ownership
• 1.8 Practice in Education / Research
• 1.9 Record Keeping
• 1.11 Lab Work Order Forms
• 1.12 Dental Prosthesis
• 1.14 Anesthesia
• 1.17 Advertising
• 1.27 Peer Health Assistance
• 1.33 Administration of Immunizations
July 8 rulemaking hearing (if adopted on July 8, the rules will go into effect on Aug. 30 for these sections):
• 1.13 Limited Prescriptive Authority Dental Hygienists
• 1.25 Interim Therapeutic Restorations by Dental Hygienists
• 1.26 Application of SDF and Other Medicaments
• 1.34 Administration of Neuromodulators & Fillers
• 1.35 Itinerant surgery
• 1.36 Teledentistry
Practitioners must continue to follow the current Colorado Dental Board Rules and Regulations until new rules are finalized and adopted in coming months.
The CDA has been busy this year. We’ve had some battles and are collecting victories. As always, the CDA is watching out for its members and representing dentistry in Colorado. Look for the summer issue of The Journal to read our legislative wrap-up article.
