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Rates for Insured-Vision Plans to Stay at 2010 Rates until March 31, 2012!
Delta Dental began offering fully-insured vision benefits in 2010 through the DeltaVision program. Rates for the DeltaVision plans will remain at 2010 rates until March 31, 2012 and are guaranteed for two years!
There are several different DeltaVision plans with varying material allowances and copays. There is also a Materials Only plan designed to compliment medical plans that cover a yearly vision exam. Plans are available on a voluntary or contributory basis.
For more information on adding DeltaVision to your client’s benefit package, please contact Delta Dental at 877-423-3582 or visit the Delta Dental broker portal for plan designs and rates.
Learn How to Prosper in Times of Change through Living the 7 Habits on July 27
Learn how to embrace change by attending this FREE day of learning from Delta Dental of Iowa on July 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Urbandale.
This powerful session, led by FranklinCovey’s senior leadership consultant J.D. Frailey, provides fundamental tactics and strategies for adapting to a changing world.
The session will include:
- An overview of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
- How your mindsets and attitudes either create possibilities or keep you stuck in the past.
- How to “take responsibility” for our future.
- A “deep dive” of Habits 4, 5, and 6 – think win-win, seek first to understand, and synergize.
Delta Dental will provide an update for brokers and agents on dental and vision products.
Space is limited, to reserve your spot today for this informative session, click here to register or contact Sharon Porter at sporter@deltadentalia.com or at 515-261-5581.
To GoSM — Increasing Your Clients’ Employees’ Annual Maximum
In traditional dental plans, the annual maximum is a “use it or lose it” benefit. With Delta Dental’s To GoSM, enrollees have the ability to carryover unused portions of their annual maximum in a given year and apply it to their To Go bank, increasing their total benefit dollars to utilize in the future.
To Go is included with most standard small group (under 50 employees) plans and is an optional benefit for large group (over 51 employees) customers. The cost of this benefit is minimal compared to the potential savings to your employees and their family members.
How To Go Works
Below is an example of how To Go works for a plan with an annual maximum of $1,500.
| Year 1 |
Year 2 |
| Annual Maximum: |
$1,500 |
Annual Maximum: |
$1,500 |
| Eligible Benefit Used: |
$600 |
To Go Benefit from Year 1: |
$900 |
| Unused Maximum: |
$900 |
Year 2 Annual Maximum: |
$2,400 |
To Go Benefit Carryover:
(Available for use in year 2) |
$900 |
Eligible Benefit Used: |
$700 |
| |
|
Unused Maximum: |
$1,700 |
| |
|
To Go Benefit Carryover:
(Available for use in year 3) |
$1,500* |
* The annual carryover amount cannot exceed the annual maximum
For more information on adding To Go to your client’s dental benefits and pricing, contact your Delta Dental of Iowa representative at 877-423-3582.
Teeth Wisdom: Correcting Ten Misconceptions of Dental Coverage
Despite the detail of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, policymakers in Washington, D.C. and across the country still face many decisions regarding implementation. While medical coverage will be the primary focus of these deliberations, implications for dental coverage and oral health should not be overlooked. Yet, misconceptions about dental coverage persist today when, in fact, the dental benefits system works well – and much differently from medical coverage.
To download the complete whitepaper on 10 Misconceptions of Dental Coverage, click here. Below is a brief summary.
Misconception #1: It’s just dental.
Dental coverage is important for oral health and overall health. More than 90 percent of all systemic diseases, including diabetes, leukemia, cancer, heart disease and kidney disease, have oral characteristics that can be detected during an oral exam.1
Misconception #2: Care equals treatment.
Dental coverage has long been at the forefront of prevention-focused care. Dental care is more straight-forward, dealing with two primary and nearly 100 percent preventable diseases: cavities and periodontal (gum) disease.
Misconception #3: Building one provider network is the same as building another.
Stand-alone dental carriers specialize in oral health benefits, and this focus allows them to build extraordinarily strong networks of dentists who have agreed to discount their regular fees. Delta Dental has negotiated discounts with more than 80 percent of dentists nationally and 90 percent in Iowa.
Misconception #5: One insurance claim is the same as another.
With medical coverage, claims are often lower frequency but higher cost; in dental, it’s just the opposite. The prevention-based model encourages frequent care and lower claims costs to avoid more costly treatment.
Misconception #6: So-called “market reforms” make sense for all types of coverage.
Medical and dental coverage are very different – so different that Congress has formally designated dental as an “excepted benefit.”
Misconception #7: Dental coverage costs are out of control.
While dental premiums have increased 4-8 percent annually over the past decade, medical premiums have risen over 114 percent over the past decade.2
Misconception #8: You might as well get dental with your medical.
Nearly all dental coverage – 97 percent – is written separately from medical. Separate dental coverage offering and pricing should be maintained as health care reform is implemented because it ensures transparency and competition.
Misconception #9: You might as well get dental with your medical (part II).
Stand-alone dental carriers focus their efforts to offer the best dental benefits in the category. That’s why each year Delta Dental companies typically retain more than 97 percent of their customers.3
Misconception #10: All insurance companies are the same.
Eliminating medical insurance company profits won’t solve the health care crisis. As a not-for-profit, Delta Dental provides cost-effective dental coverage, while fulfilling our mission by proving funding through the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation to improve the oral health of Iowans through research, access to care, education and prevention.
1 Academy of General Dentistry’s Know Your Teeth, October 2008.
2 Kaiser/HRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits, 2000–2010.
3 Delta Dental Data, 2009.
Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation Funds Oral Health Programs
The Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation has awarded $88,082 to 15 Iowa agencies to improve the oral health of Iowans.
The oral health grants are part of the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation’s ongoing mini-grant program. Mini-grants are intended to support one-time oral health projects, such as workshops or conferences, or short-term projects up to one-year in duration, such as a survey, data collection or research study.
The agencies being awarded mini-grants by the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation in May 2011 include:
- Cedar Rapids, Visiting Nurse Services
- Coralville, The Iowa Children’s Museum
- Council Bluffs, Family, Inc.
- Creston, MATURA Action Corporation
- Des Moines, Children and Families of Iowa
- Des Moines, Drake University Head Start
- Des Moines, Visiting Nurse Services
- Dubuque, Crescent Community Health Center
- Grimes, Special Olympics Iowa, Inc.
- Knoxville, Marion County Public Health Department
- Marshalltown, Mid-Iowa Community Action, Inc.
- Ottumwa, River Hills Community Health Center
- Sioux City, Siouxland Community Health Center
- Urbandale, Primary Health Care, Inc.
- West Des Moines, Iowa CareGivers Association
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Oral Health IQ: Study Finds Too Few Kids Wearing Mouth Guards
This column on oral health can be used for your own internal newsletters or other employee communications.
According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Delta Dental Plans Association, most American children don’t wear mouth guards while playing sports that pose a risk of injury to the mouth, contrary to recommendations made by dental professionals.1
“Mouth guards do more than protect young athletes’ teeth. They can also help prevent concussions by acting as shock absorbers,” said Dr. Ed Schooley, DDS, dental director for Delta Dental of Iowa. “Studies show that concussions can cause serious, long-term consequences for athletes, and the majority of at-risk athletes are children.”
Although mouth guards are only mandatory for some youth sports, such as ice hockey, football and lacrosse, dental professionals recommend they be worn for all athletic activities where there is a strong potential for contact with other participants or hard surfaces.
Nearly seven in 10 Americans (70 percent) report that their child does not wear a mouth guard at soccer, basketball, baseball and softball practices or games. And studies show that today’s basketball players are 15 times more likely to sustain an orofacial injury than football players.2
If your child participates in sports, you should consider using one of the three types of mouth guards currently available:
- Stock mouth guards are relatively inexpensive and have a pre-formed shape. But since the fit can’t be adjusted, they’re less effective than a fitted option.
- Mouth-formed mouth guards can be purchased at many sporting goods stores, and can be molded to the individual’s mouth, usually by boiling the mouth guard in hot water to soften the plastic.
- Custom-made mouth guards are considered the best option but are the most expensive. Since they are made by your dentist from a mold of your teeth, they fit tightly and correctly.
Still, if cost is a consideration, any mouth guard is better than none at all. For more on keeping your mouth healthy, go to www.OralHealthIA.com.
1 Morpace Inc. conducted the 2011 Delta Dental Children’s Oral Health Survey. Interviews were conducted by email nationally with 907 primary caregivers of children from birth to age 11. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of error is ±3.25 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
2 Academy of General Dentistry, “Mouthguards Fight ‘Weekend Warrior’ Syndrome” http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=S&iid=331&aid=1326, February 2007. |
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