WHAT'S NEW FOR SMALL GROUPS IN 2018
Did you know that cavities are the most chronic childhood disease? Cavities are five times more common than asthma. Children with pain from tooth decay typically miss more school and have lower grades than their peers, not to mention the missed school and work hours. But cavities are nearly 100% preventable, and it's easy to protect your child's oral health and ensure better overall health.
That's why Delta Dental of Colorado is introducing
RIGHT START 4 KIDS
SM
, an innovative plan design enhancement that removes most of the cost barriers to dental care by providing coverage for children up to their 13th birthday at 100%, with no deductible, when in-network providers are seen.* If an out-of-network provider is seen, the adult coinsurance levels will apply. Orthodontic services (if available as part of the plan) are not covered at 100%, but at the selected plan's benefit level.
We are making Right Start 4 Kids available to most small groups (2-100), as of 1/1/2018. Not available for customized plans. Current groups will receive this benefit enhancement as part of their renewal. If you have any questions about Right Start 4 Kids, please contact your account manager.
*Right Start 4 Kids is subject to limitations, exclusions, and annual maximum.
TOOLS FOR OPEN ENROLLMENT
Open enrollment is coming, and we have some online tools for you and your employees to get the most out of your dental benefits, to maximize both oral and overall health.
Once open enrollment has wrapped up, don't forget about the Employer Communication Toolkit. This is the perfect tool to help you find articles you can use in
employee
newsletters, flyers and
infographics that you can post in break rooms, and videos to help your employees understand their dental benefits better.
NETWORK MANAGEMENT
Delta Dental of Colorado continues to holistically work toward providing our employer groups, subscribers, and providers a positive experience when it comes to dental benefits. One way that we are doing this is through our network management team.
Network management is composed of five dedicated team members. Three provider network advocates are available to address providers' questions or issues that cannot be taken care of by our customer service team. Two provider network managers are out and about, visiting offices to train administrative staff on various tools and policies, as well as getting to know the providers. This team also recruits providers to join the Delta Dental of Colorado network.
If there is a provider that you or your employees would like to see in the Delta Dental of Colorado network who is currently not participating or a Premier provider that you or your employees would like to see as a PPO provider, feel free to reach out to the network management team at
[email protected] with those recommendations.
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TRENDS IN DENTAL BENEFITS
The ADA Center for Dental Benefits, Coding and Quality recently teamed up with National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) to present information on trends in the dental benefits market. The NADP conducted a survey of carriers, employers, and consumers to gather the statistics mentioned below.
Consumers with dental benefits are:
- More likely to visit dentist regularly.
- 69% within last six months.
- 82% within last year.
- More likely to use a network dentist within their dental plan (nine out of ten).
Sources of dental coverage:
- Only 23% of Americans have no dental benefits.
- A little more than half of the population gets dental benefits in the private market - through employers (47.3%) or by purchasing as an individual (3.6%).
- Just over a quarter of the population (26%) gets dental benefits through a public program.
Importance of dental in benefits package:
- Dental is the most-requested supplemental benefit employees request of employers.
- Dental is also the most "essential" ancillary benefit for employers - 80% rate as essential or as a differentiator.
Private dental benefits:
- PPO plans continue to be the predominant private dental benefit in the market (81% in 2016).
These are just some of the statistics that were presented. You can watch the Trends in the Dental Benefits Market presentation in full, for a limited time,
here.
INSURANCE LITERACY RESOURCES
As open enrollment 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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 WORD OF MOUTH: TURNING UP THE VOLUME ON ORAL HEALTH
Since launching the Word of Mouth campaign earlier this year, Delta Dental of Colorado has shared the message that caring for oral health is important because of the strong connection between oral and overall health. By partnering with a growing number of leading organizations, we are spreading the word to businesses, health professionals, and people all across Colorado.
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