The Michigan Senate Committee on Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection on an unspecified date voted to report Senate Bill 105 to the full Senate with a recommendation that the bill pass.

Senator Winnie Irwin, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure responds to complaints from dentists who said reimbursements were delivered on virtual credit cards that required them to pay processing fees that reduced the net payment. "They were promised reimbursement at a certain level. They got reimbursed at a level that was, you know, 2 or 3 roughly percent lower than that depending upon exactly what the processing fees were," Irwin said.

The bill would not ban virtual credit cards but would require an insurer to use another form of payment if a dental provider notifies the insurer of a preferred payment method. "This bill does not ban the use of virtual credit cards. It says that if a dentist prefers another form of payment and they notify the insurance company, that insurance company should use that form of payment that they would prefer," Tom Steinbus, manager of government insurance affairs for the Michigan Dental Association, told the committee and said the practice costs Michigan dentists "thousands of dollars" a year.

Why it matters: Providers say virtual-card fees reduce the effective reimbursement negotiated under contract. Supporters framed the bill as a consumer-protection and fairness measure for small medical providers and their staff workload; opponents were not recorded in committee testimony.

Committee action and next steps: Senator Irwin moved to report the bill to the floor with a recommendation that it pass. The clerk announced the result as "7 yeas and 0 nays. The bill is reported." The names recorded on the roll call were Chairwoman Kavanaugh (yes), Senator Irwin (yes), Senator McCann (yes), Senator Bayer (yes), Senator Huizenga (yes), Senator Theis (yes), and Senator Daley (yes). The committee did not record any amendments or conditions in committee.

Background and related details: Senator Irwin said this is a reintroduction of a measure heard last fall and that a prior version passed this committee and the Senate unanimously. Testimony from the Michigan Dental Association emphasized both the direct dollar impact to dentists and the staff time required to convert virtual-credit-card payments into usable funds.

No effective date, implementing language or floor amendments were recorded in the committee transcript. The bill will move to the full Senate for further consideration; a floor schedule and final vote were not specified in committee minutes.