State Updates
Wednesday, July 16
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM (PT)
While there has been significant 2025 California legislative activity related to dental benefits, the other 49 states have not been lagging behind with legislative proposals both new and old. Legislative & Regulatory Committee (LRC) Co-Chair Crystal McElroy and LRC member Bernard LaPine will outline state battles on topics such as dental loss ratio (DLR) and virtual credit cards. They will also discuss activity at the National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) related to models used by the states to develop legislation and why impacting those model acts is critical to the industry’s advocacy efforts.
Bernard J. LaPine
Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs
Highmark Inc.
Bernard J. LaPine is the Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for Highmark Inc.
Bernard joined Highmark in 2014 and is responsible for legislative affairs activities for Highmark’s dental subsidiary, United Concordia Dental and for its stop loss subsidiary, HM Insurance Group. Bernard also manages Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and commercial compliance programs for United Concordia Dental.
Bernard has worked in the health insurance industry for over 25 years, serving in a variety of regulatory, compliance and legislative roles. He has experience providing regulatory and legislative support for commercial, Medicare and Medicaid plans with operations in multiple states, including Aetna, Coventry Health Care and Mid-Atlantic Medical Services.
In addition to serving on the CADP Board of Directors and CADP Legislative and Regulatory Committee, Bernard is Chair of the NADP Government Relations Workgroup and is a member of the NADP PAC Committee and the NADP Government Funded Workgroup. He also participates in several other insurance-related associations, including the Alliance of Maryland Dental Plans, the Self-Insurance Institute of America, and America’s Health Insurance Plans.
Bernard graduated from Gettysburg College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and received his Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University Thomas Cooley Law School. He is a licensed attorney and a member of the State Bar of Pennsylvania.
Crystal McElroy
Vice President, Group Benefits Contracts and Compliance
MetLife
Crystal McElroy is the vice president of the Group Benefits Contracts and Compliance team at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and is based in Irvine, CA. She oversees all contracts, compliance, and regulatory issues for MetLife’s Group Benefits products.
Crystal is currently the President of the CADP Board and co-chairs the CADP Legislative and Regulatory Committee. She also is currently a member of the NADP Board of Directors, the Chair of the NADP Commission on Advocacy Policy, and a member of the Government Relations Workgroup. She also volunteers on topics focused on NADP workgroups, such as the Medicare and Dental Loss Ratio Workgroup.
Before joining MetLife in October 2013, she served as a senior attorney with the California Department of Managed Health Care in the Office of Plan Licensing for seven years. She was responsible for reviewing dental and health plan licensing documents related to plan benefits, disclosure documents, networks, and mergers and acquisitions.
Crystal graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in Biochemistry and a minor in Political Science in 2003. She obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, in 2006.
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