Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following section after Section 45C:

Provided that the Medicaid dental reimbursement rates set by EOHHS are not less than 80% of the average commercial reimbursement rates, no dentist pursuant to the provisions in Section 45 shall refuse a patient solely on the basis that services for said patients are reimbursed by Medicaid.  Dentists who deny dental services to MassHealth patients solely because of MassHealth status shall be subject to disciplinary action by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry.

No less than six months after the implementation of this section, the EOHHS shall report to this Committee the number and location of licensed Massachusetts dentists enrolled in Medicaid and the number of licensed Massachusetts dentists who billed MassHealth for one or more patients during the previous calendar year. No less than 18 months after implementation of this section, the EEOHHS shall report to this Committee the number and location of licensed Massachusetts dentists enrolled in Medicaid and the number of licensed Massachusetts dentists who billed MassHealth for one or more patients during the calendar year, the first month of which is the month this section is enacted. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry shall make this report publicly available on the front page of their government website and by hard copy on request.