Letter to the Editor: Respect to the Boston 'Teeth' Party

Massachusetts is again the epicenter of a national revolution — whimsically named The Boston "Teeth" Party — we are the first state to impose a minimum spending requirement on dental insurance companies. As the lead consultant behind this revolutionary initiative, I think it is important to tell the David v. Goliath story of how a single doctor outwitted the over-confident dental insurance executives of the nation.

Staying with the Boston Tea Party analogy, a recent Boston Globe article was entitled "Mass could be the birthplace of a dental revolution. Here's why." The article ended with "Rizkallah's crusade has sparked a fire that will be tough for the insurance industry to put out. That's often how a revolution starts: one passionate person, with a cause that can win the hearts of many."

Most people do not know that many states, including Massachusetts, have repeatedly failed to accomplish a minimum spending requirement insurance law through traditional bill legislation, due to powerful and strategic legislative creatures — the dental insurance lobby.

Enter Dr. Mouhab Rizkallah and his "Committee on Dental Insurance Quality." As a vocal critic of unfair dental insurance company tactics for the past decade, Rizkallah became the single greatest advocate for fair dental insurance in the nation. In tit-for-tat battles over the past decade, Dr. Rizkallah was always successful, but the insurers always found new ways to cheat patients. So, Rizkallah set out on a mission to stop the battles and win the war — Question 2.

Question 2 was Rizkallah's final knockout punch that the insurers never expected — the first dental ballot in the nation's history, insurers were rendered defenseless. All they could do was launch expensive false-advertising campaigns. Outspent, but not outwitted, Rizkallah's law consistently resonated with voters — a "no-brainer" to most.

It repeatedly struck me that Question 2 resonated so well because Rizkallah designed it very well. Question 2 both ensured that insurance companies can only make more money by spending more on patient care, while simultaneously obstructing insurers from increasing premiums. That balance produces an affordable "value-guarantee" for patients.

The result was a rare and stunning 72% victory- carrying all 351 cities and towns in the state.

Rizkallah's work on Question 2 has now been nationally recognized by his peers.

"Dentistry Today Magazine" has named him 2022 Person of the Year."

The American Dental Association has awarded him the 2022 "Presidential Citation Award."

The Mass. Dental Society has awarded him the 2022 "Metropolitan Achievement Award."

"It might be one of the most precedent-setting things to happen in dental benefits in decades"' according to Chad Olson, director of State Government Affairs for the American Dental Association.

On election night, as he celebrated alongside Massachusetts Dental Society President-elect Dr. Abdul, Rizkallah promised to make Question 2 Federal Law.

To know Rizkallah is to know that he means what he says — he will bring his Boston "Teeth" Party to the 332 Million patients across the nation.

I and my team are proud to have been a part of this incredible revolution.

— Christopher Keohan

North Reading