Texas Senate bill by Sen. Schwertner mandates anesthesia coverage for dental procedures in young patients

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Charles Schwertner seeks to ensure health benefit plans provide coverage for medically necessary anesthesia services during dental procedures for patients under 13, aiming to address care barriers in this age group, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the House, 56 Democrats and 55 Republicans voted in favor, while 28 Republicans voted against it.

Charles Schwertner introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, ahead of the official start of the 89th regular legislative session on Jan. 14, 2025.

Schwertner graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS.

Schwertner, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2013 to represent the state’s 5th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Steve Ogden.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to health benefit coverage for general anesthesia in connection with certain pediatric dental services’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill mandates that health benefit plans covering general anesthesia cannot exclude medically necessary anesthesia services for dental procedures for patients under 13 if a documented reason prevents them from undergoing the service without it. This applies to plans provided by various insurance entities, including traditional insurance companies, HMOs, and group hospital service contracts, among others. The bill specifies that anesthesia must be administered by qualified providers but does not require plans to cover general dental care or procedures. The new requirements apply to plans delivered, issued, or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2026, and the bill takes effect on Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. José Menéndez (Democrat – District 26) and Sen. Juan Hinojosa (Democrat – District 20), along with two other authors.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Wednesday, May 28, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.