HCA: Commitment letter temporarily suspended for surgery in conjunction with orthodontic treatment

Dental Medicaid

WSDA is committed to keeping our members up to date on the latest news and information involving Washington state's Dental Medicaid program.

COVID-19: HCA has created a web page ​for COVID-19 information. For Medicaid provider information, scroll down to the "Providers" section.

Latest Medicaid News

HCA: Commitment letter temporarily suspended for surgery in conjunction with orthodontic treatment

The Health Care Authority (HCA) recently sent the following alert to dental Medicaid providers.

Attention orthodontic and oral surgery providers:

Subject:  Commitment letter requirement for orthognathic surgery temporarily suspended

Currently, the Health Care Authority (HCA) requires orthodontic providers to submit a commitment letter from an oral surgeon along with their prior authorization (PA) request for orthodontic treatment requiring orthognathic surgery. 

Effective June 1, 2022, through November 30, 2022, HCA is temporarily suspending this requirement for a commitment letter.  Even though the requirement to submit a commitment letter is waived for this period, PA is still required for orthodontic treatment.

Please see the June 1, 2022, Orthodontic Services Billing Guide for further information.

For questions regarding this change, contact the Dental Program at HCA’s Dental Program.

Medicaid Transition to Managed Care Cancelled

The 2019 Legislature has directed the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) to continue to administer the dental Medicaid program through fee-for-service. The HCA may not proceed with a carved-out or carved-in managed care dental option at this time.

Learn More

Questions? Please email info@wsda.org.
"State":"WA"