New California Law ‘a Victory’ for Dentists Wanting EFT Claim Payments
Nacha has for many years advocated that dental and medical practices receive claim payments by ACH and avoid virtual credit cards (VCCs) and paper checks. Dental practices, however, all too often found insurance companies coaxing them to take claim payments by virtual credit cards (VCCs) and accept the accompanying fees. But those days are about to end for California dentists who want an easy way to get paid by electronic funds transfers (EFTs).
“A health care service plan that provides payment directly, or through a contracted vendor, to a dental provider shall have a non-fee-based default method of payment,” reads State Senate Bill 386, signed into law Oct. 1 by Gov. Gavin Newsom and taking effect April 1, 2026.
The measure makes clear that insurers and their vendors must “obtain affirmative consent from a dental provider who opts in to a fee-based payment method” before providing them with VCCs.
“This is a victory for both dental offices and patients—a victory that belongs to every voice that kept pushing forward,” said Dr. Cynthia K. Brattesani, DDS, who practices in San Francisco. “It’s proof that persistence for what was fair and right can overcome even the toughest opposition,” added Brattesani, who was spotlighted in a Nacha success story about using EFTs—and refusing any VCCs her office receives.
“Dental practices are often small businesses and it can be difficult for them to take on insurance companies to demand EFT,” said Brad Smith, Nacha Senior Director, Industry Engagement and Advocacy. “Dr. Brattesani’s staff told us how they often spend an hour on hold waiting to return a VCC. That means time away from other important matters, including focusing on patients. Hopefully, this law will make EFTs to go-to claim payment methods for dentists across California.”
Also not mincing words was Dr. Max Martinez, DDS, president of the California Dental Association, with 27,000 members.
“Getting SB 386 signed into law is a huge victory for California dentists, who have contended too long with the predatory use of VCCs,” Martinez said in a statement. “No more must dental office staff make the difficult ‘choice’ of either spending hours repeatedly opting out of VCC payments or accepting the VCC payments with high fees in order to keep the practice running most efficiently.”
While the medical community has been quick to adopt EFT, dentists have often lagged but are making strides. The CAQH Index Report, released earlier this year, showed a 43% increase in dental claim payments during 2023, the year the information was collected.
Additionally, in the third quarter of 2025, Nacha figures show there were nearly 140 million ACH claim payments to healthcare providers of all types, up 6.8% from a year earlier.
