NEW: ONLINE BRIGHTER SCHEDULING AVAILABLE
Did you know dental visits among working-age adults are at an all-time low across the United States? Fewer than 40% actually see their dentist in any given year. We're working to make scheduling appointments even easier and more convenient for your employees with our new Brighter scheduling feature.
As an enhancement to our Find a Dentist tool, this feature allows members to select open appointment times online and via our mobile app, 24/7. They can even manage their appointment and cancel or reschedule if necessary and the dentist is automatically notified of any changes.
Find out more about Brighter scheduling here.
NETWORK ACCURACY
A network directory is a dynamic, living organism. The minute it's downloaded, it becomes outdated as providers come and go quickly as participating providers at any given location. When evaluating and comparing different carriers' networks, here are some tips to ensure you are comparing apples to apples:
- Look at and compare provider location numbers i.e., addresses of the provider offices. While the numbers of providers can be inflated because of the transiency of schedules and providers who "roam" to fill in gaps, the number of physical offices remains relatively stable.
- Count the individually licensed providers. Similar to the above suggestion, providers may be listed at more locations than possible for actually treating patients.
- Be skeptical when looking at points of access or line items that combine a provider with a location. Many large group practices will list their providers at all of their corporate locations, artificially inflating the number of providers in the network with whom members can make appointments.
- Evaluate the ratio of locations to providers and compare one carrier's outcome against the other's. Ratios can be high if the number of providers at any given location is inflated. As an example, Delta Dental's Colorado dental network has an average of 1.4 locations per provider while some of our larger competitors are as high as 4.8 locations per provider. Do a reality check: Would almost EVERY office in the region have more than five dentists? Typically not.
- Is this a proprietary network (directly contracted with the carrier and obligated to follow consistent quality-management rules) or one that is a conglomeration of the proprietary network and some providers who are leased and not directly obligated to follow the same rules as the proprietary network? Many carriers realize the expense and effort it takes to recruit and maintain a large network. In order to fill gaps in access quickly, they may lease a network from another carrier or from a company that offers network dentists. While this does help in ensuring access to care, it can create noise for your members, as the patients and dentists are often confused as to which fee table or employer groups are considered as part of any leased arrangement.
Delta Dental Plans Association requires annual audits on directory accuracy where a "Secret Shopper" methodology is applied, working diligently to assure members that when they call one of our participating providers or offices, the dentists they seek out for oral health care will be available for an appointment. Delta Dental of Colorado has passed this audit with flying colors time after time.
Delta Dental has the highest number of directly contracted and actively practicing dentists in the state. All of our contracted providers must abide by the same contract and rules throughout Colorado and even across state lines. When you look at all of the criteria of a solid network, Delta Dental has it all: high number of directly contracted and actively practicing providers, cleaner network directory, and appropriate ratio of locations-to-provider. And our online dental search tool reflects this in real time.
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DELTA DENTAL JOINS HEALTHCARE INNOVATION CENTER CATALYST HTI
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elta Dental of Colorado will open a health innovation center at the Catalyst Health-Tech Innovation (HTI) development in Denver's River North district. The development, a healthcare industry integrator, will be the first of its kind in the nation.
Delta Dental will lease 2,000 square feet on the second floor. We plan to use the space as a center for collaboration and innovation, working alongside startups and larger companies within Catalyst HTI and inviting in entrepreneurs to develop and test new concepts.
"The oral healthcare industry is seeing the development of exciting new, innovative technologies that have the potential to significantly, if not dramatically, improve patient outcomes and care," said Helen Drexler, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Colorado. "As the state's leading dental benefits provider, it's imperative that we're at the forefront of these efforts and on the leading edge of developing the future of oral healthcare."
Catalyst HTI is an "industry integrator" bringing together a full spectrum of stakeholders in health care. Startups will have access to potential clients and investors in established companies, while larger corporations can surround themselves with emerging technologies in an environment filled with entrepreneurs and growth companies. The project is being jointly developed by Koelbel and Company, health-tech entrepreneur Mike Biselli, and the landowners.
You can view the full press release
here.
INSURANCE LITERACY RESOURCES
As a new benefit year begins for many companies, it's important to remember that insurance terms can be confusing to many of your employees. In fact, only
4% of adults can define insurance terms. We took to the streets to find out just how confusing they can be.
Watch what we found out. Delta Dental has great resources
to help your employees understand their coverage and get the most out of their dental benefits.
Blog
Website
Videos
Delta Dental of Colorado's YouTube page has great, easy-to-understand videos that explain deductible, copay vs. coinsurance, and annual maximum. It's a good place to start when an employee is just starting coverage or needs a little refresher.
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What is a Deductible?
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Copay/Coinsurance
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Annual Maximum
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WELLNESS COMMUNICATIONS CALENDAR FOR EMPLOYERS
Do you have a wellness portal or a company newsletter that you'd
like to include oral health content on? Delta Dental of Colorado has created an Employer Communication Toolkit that
gives you articles that you can use in employee newsletters or internal blogs, flyers and infographics that you can post on company intranet sites or on bulletin boards in break rooms, and videos that you can use to help your employees understand their dental benefits better. This document is interactive, so just click on the piece that you would like to use and the link will take you directly to that article, flyer, infographic, or video.
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