Delta Dental Introduces New Affordable Dental Program for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses in Nevada and Utah.

LAS VEGAS -- Delta Dental Insurance Company announced today a new affordable dental program in Nevada and Utah for small to mid-sized businesses with five to 299 eligible employees.

The new program leverages the efficiencies of participating select general agents to help keep premiums affordable and on par with what many larger companies can offer their employees.

"Our unique contractual arrangements with well established general agents allows for more efficient administration, resulting in lower costs and more effective distribution to a market segment that frequently has fewer options when it comes to dental benefits," said Anthony S. Barth, president of Delta Dental Insurance Company. "It's a model that has proven effective and popular in several other states, and we expect it to be successful in Nevada and Utah as well."

A U.S. Department of Labor study shows that nationwide, only 31 percent of those who work for smaller companies have access to dental benefits, compared to more than twice that -- 65 percent -- of those employed by businesses with more than 100 employees. Cost is cited as the most frequent barrier to dental benefits, since many small businesses have relatively slimmer profit margins and do not have access to the less expensive large group programs available to many of their larger counterparts.

Delta Dental's small and mid-sized business program is designed to help overcome this barrier by providing a choice of coverage options. Employers can choose between six Delta Dental PPO program designs, including voluntary and/or employer-sponsored coverage. Enrollees enjoy the same advantages as those belonging to Delta Dental's larger clients, including access to some of the states' and nation's largest networks of contracting dentists, and to an international referral service when traveling overseas.

Nevada and Utah based companies interested in finding local brokers offering the new program can go to http://www.deltadentalins.com/products/generalAgents.html for complete contact information through its participating general agencies.

Delta Dental Insurance Company (www.deltadentalins.com) is part of a San Francisco-based holding company along with its parent company, Delta Dental of California. Affiliated companies within the holding company system are also part of the larger Delta Dental Plans Association (DDPA), based in Oak Brook, Ill. DDPA consists of 39 Delta Dental member companies licensed in all 50 states. The association collectively covers about 46 million of the 159 million people nationwide with private dental insurance, making it by far the largest national system of dental plans.