Dentovio public answer
dental timely filing limits by payer
There is no single dental timely-filing limit — each payer sets its own, and several publish none at all.
Sourced answer
There is no single dental timely-filing limit — each payer sets its own, and several publish none at all. Verified against payer-published documents: Cigna allows 90 days participating / 180 out-of-network; Delta Dental's deltadentalins.com enterprise generally denies claims received more than 12 months after treatment; Humana allows 15 months on most fully insured commercial products and 12 months for Medicare claims; UnitedHealthcare's state Medicaid dental manuals run 90 (WI), 180 (NE), and 120 (NY) days; MCNA Texas runs 95 days and Molina Kentucky 365; Medicaid fee-for-service carries a federal 12-month rule (42 CFR 447.45(d)(1)) and Medicare a 1-calendar-year rule (42 CFR 424.44(a)(1)). United Concordia and MetLife publish no public numbers — their guides are login-gated. Provider contracts override published manuals, so the contract number controls.
- Cluster
- Practice operations
- Last verified
- 2026-08-30
- Reviewer
- None — owner-published
Dentovio is an independent publisher — not a payer, the American Dental Association, or any government agency, and it is unaffiliated with the insurers named here. This page was drafted with AI assistance and verified against the primary sources linked here. It has not been reviewed by a credentialed dental billing specialist or attorney. These pages record filing, correction, appeal, records, and recoupment windows as read in each payer's published documents on the last-verified date — and record honestly where no public number exists. Provider contracts override published manuals, editions change, and several payers set different rules per state, network, or program. Educational reference only, not billing or legal advice; confirm the controlling number in your participation contract and the payer's current provider manual before relying on it.
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Source citations
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-1 Ameritas: Ameritas dental member FAQ (ameritas.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-2 Cigna: Cigna — When to File Your Claims (cigna.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-3 Delta Dental: Delta Dental Ins. — late claim submission guidance (deltadentalins.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-4 Guardian: Guardian support — dental appeals answer (a_id/158) (guardianlife.custhelp.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-5 Humana: Humana Dental Provider Manual (public PDF) (assets.humana.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-6 MetLife: MetLife TakeAlong Dental FAQ (metlifetakealongdental.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-7 Sun Life: Sun Life — dental provider FAQ (sunlife.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-8 United Concordia: United Concordia — dentist office resources (AEM content endpoint) (unitedconcordia.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-9 UnitedHealthcare (NE Medicaid): UHC Community Plan of Nebraska — Dental Provider Manual (PDF) (uhcdental.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-10 UnitedHealthcare (NY Medicaid): UHC Community Plan of New York — Dental Provider Manual (PDF) (uhcdental.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-11 UnitedHealthcare (WI Medicaid): UHC Community Plan of Wisconsin — Dental Provider Manual (PDF) (uhcdental.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-12 AmeriHealth Caritas (LA Medicaid): AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana — Billing and Claims (provider page) (amerihealthcaritasla.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-13 MassHealth (DentaQuest): MassHealth Dental Program — Office Reference Manual (mass.gov) (mass.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-14 SC Medicaid (DentaQuest): SCDHHS Provider Administrative and Billing Manual (scdhhs.gov) (scdhhs.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-15 MCNA (AR Medicaid): MCNA Dental — Arkansas Medicaid orientation (2023, Arkansas DHS host) (humanservices.arkansas.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-16 MCNA (TX Medicaid/CHIP): MCNA Dental — Texas Provider Manual v1.31 (manuals.mcna.net) (manuals.mcna.net)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-17 Molina (KY Medicaid): Passport by Molina Healthcare — Payment Policy 52, Timely Filing (KY Medicaid) (molinahealthcare.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-18 Original Medicare: 42 CFR § 424.44 — Time limits for filing claims (eCFR) (ecfr.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-19 Medicaid FFS (federal rule): 42 CFR § 447.45 — Timely claims payment (GPO-authenticated CFR, 2024 ed.) (govinfo.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-20 CMS Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Pub. 100-04, Ch. 1 (cms.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-21 First Coast Service Options — returned/rejected claims and timely filing (2026-02-17) (medicare.fcso.com)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-22 Md. Code, Insurance § 15-1008 (Maryland General Assembly) (mgaleg.maryland.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-23 NY Insurance Law § 3224-b (NY Senate) (nysenate.gov)
- TIMELYFILING-HUB-24 DOL/HHS/Treasury FAQs About Coronavirus and Health Coverage, Part 58 (Mar. 29, 2023) (dol.gov)