Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota Announces Dramatic Cost Limits For Groups.MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 1996--Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota is standing up to rising dental costs. The result has been dramatic: over the last two years, Delta's dental inflation index has dropped 29% - from 7% to 5%. And groups and consumers are now seeing the benefits of these reductions. "We have been able to limit the costs of care our groups experience from the dentist dentist /den·tist/ (den´tist) a person with a degree in dentistry and authorized to practice dentistry. den·tist n. A person who is trained and licensed to practice dentistry. ," said Lisa Tourville, Assistant Vice President of Actuarial ac·tu·ar·y n. pl. ac·tu·ar·ies A statistician who computes insurance risks and premiums. [Latin . "We believe we stand alone in controlling costs." "We are excited to be able to continually demonstrate value to our customers," said Mark Moksnes, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Delta Dental Plan Delta Dental Plan, n.pr an active member organization of the Delta Dental Plans Association (a not-for-profit organization), formed and guided by state dental societies to provide prepaid dental care to the public on a group basis. of Minnesota. "The trend results we are experiencing can be directly passed on to our groups and their employees." The dental benefits marketplace has traditionally followed the medical marketplace in many ways. That has held true on costs in the last three years as dental inflation began to exceed the rate of inflation groups experience for their medical costs. After seeing years of steadily increasing dental costs, Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota began in 1995 to limit fee increases dentists Dentists can refer to one of the following:
As Delta lowers administrative costs administrative costs, n.pl the overhead expenses incurred in the operation of a dental benefits program, excluding costs of dental services provided. , the company can immediately pass savings on to its customers. In addition to overall utilization savings, Delta also saves all its groups and employees through the unique "Hold Harmless Agreement An agreement or contract in which one party agrees to hold the other free from the responsibility for any liability or damage that might arise out of the transaction involved. " which limits the out-of-pocket expenses out-of-pocket expenses n. moneys paid directly for necessary items by a contractor, trustee, executor, administrator or any person responsible to cover expenses not detailed by agreement. for members. Any portion of a dentist's fee higher than the approved amount for a procedure cannot be charged to the member. "The Hold Harmless Agreement saves our groups and their employees $4 million each year," Tourville said. Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota is the leading dental coverage company in the state of Minnesota, providing dental coverage for 1.7 million Americans across the U.S. The company generated 1995 revenue of $205 million. CONTACT: Dan Callahan, Dir. of Communications (612) 944-5252, ext. 252 1-800-862-6042, ext. 252 |
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