ADA Opposes Delta Dental of California Fee for Paper-Check Payments

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Posted: July 14, 2026

ADA Opposes Delta Dental of California Fee for Paper-Check Payments

Edited by Dentaltown staff

The American Dental Association has asked state insurance regulators to intervene after Delta Dental of California began charging participating dentists a $15 weekly administrative fee to receive claim payments by paper check. In a July 8 letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the ADA urged commissioners nationwide to support regulatory oversight of the policy.

The fee applies across the Delta Dental of California enterprise, which operates in California; Washington, D.C.; Pennsylvania and Maryland; West Virginia; Delaware; New York; and, through the Delta Dental Insurance Company, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. The company announced the change in a newsletter, and the ADA said it received copies from members in multiple states.

The Association argued that the charge coerces practices toward electronic funds transfer and shifts payers’ administrative costs onto providers. It maintained that dentists should be free to choose how they are paid and should receive the full value of their reimbursement without added processing fees.

The letter, signed by ADA President Richard Rosato and Executive Director Nader Nadershahi, noted that most dental practices are small businesses for which higher administrative costs and staff-labor demands land harder. Shelley Olson, chair of the ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs, said payers that treat electronic funds transfer as a free modernization overlook the administrative burden and cost-shifting it imposes on dental offices.

The ADA outlined three steps for dentists: contacting Delta Dental of California about payment options and the fees, contacting their state insurance commissioner to ask whether the practice comports with state insurance and consumer-protection law, and supporting state legislation that protects payment choice. It added that Aetna is also moving away from paper checks for some out-of-network providers in several states.

The ADA described the matter as developing and said it would share further information with members as it becomes available.

Sources:
ADA News, ADA opposes insurance companies charging for paper checks, July 9, 2026: adanews.ada.org/…/ada-opposes-insurance-companies-charging-for-paper-checks


ADA Opposes Delta Dental of California Fee for Paper-Check Payments

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