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Articles
Delta Dental Alliance Expands Network
Broker News Online
Need Claim Forms?
VanBrunt Named Vice Chairman of Delta Dental
Plans Association
Marketing Contacts Now Online
Staff Spotlight: Tina Sparrow
Product Spotlight: DeltaCare Dental HMO
New Web Feature: Online Directions to Dental
Offices
Standard & Poor's Rates Delta Dental 'Very
Strong'
For the past three years Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey
has enjoyed a unique marketing relationship with The United
States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York (U.S.
Life), member of the American General Financial Group. We
are pleased to announce that two Delta Dental products will
now be offered in New Jersey through American General Financial
Group. DeltaPreferred Option (or NJ TruDent Preferred Dental
Plan as it's called by American General) is available to employers
with 2-99 employees and DeltaPremier (called the NJ TruDent
Premier Dental Plan) is available to employers with 10-99
employees. Patients in the TruDent programs receive full DeltaPremier
or DeltaPreferred Option benefits, including access and referrals
to each plan's participating dentists. The programs are marketed
through American General Assurance Group and U.S. Life, members
of the American General Financial Group, and administered
by Delta Dental. As with all our dental programs, Delta Dental's
Customer Service Department handles all claim and benefit
inquiries. "Wider distribution will enable Delta Dental to
offer its products to more prospective clients in the 10-99
employee-size market," says Mark Nadeau, Delta Dental's Director
of Marketing. "We see this as a way to expand our distribution
to this vital market." American General's Dale Brockman, Vice
President-Group Sales in New Jersey, says these programs offer
brokers generous commissions and eligibility for the group
producer bonus program. Interested brokers should contact
their general agent or the American General Financial Group,
New Jersey Regional Group Sales Office, 3600 Route 66, Mail
Stop 1-N, P.O. Box 1580, Neptune, NJ 07754; phone (877) 233-4615;
fax (877) 233-4616.
Have you misplaced your past issues of Broker News? Current
and past issues of Broker News, Dental News, and Subscriber
News are now available online, at www.deltadentalnj.com.
Publications are available in both text and PDF formats.
Did you know that subscribers can now e-mail us their request
to have a supply of claim forms mailed to them? They can also
download a copy of the claim form from their computer. To
e-mail a request or download forms, visit our website at www.deltadentalnj.com/claimform/main.html.
Delta Dental President and CEO Walter VanBrunt has been named
Vice Chairman of the Delta Dental Plans Association (DDPA),
the nation's largest national network of independent not-for-profit
dental service corporations. VanBrunt, who was elected during
the association's annual meeting in Colorado Springs last
month, will serve a two-year term as the Vice Chairman. VanBrunt
was also named to the DDPA Executive Committee during the
annual meeting. In his new positions, VanBrunt will assist
in the supervision of the DDPA's overall operations. The Delta
Dental system covers 35 million Americans and includes the
participation of more than two-thirds of the nation's dentists.
Named president and CEO of Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey
in 1998, VanBrunt has maintained the company's position as
the state's largest dental benefits carrier. Delta Dental
Plan of New Jersey provides coverage to more than one million
people in New Jersey and Connecticut through a participating
network of more than 7,000 dentists. VanBrunt joined Delta
Dental Plan of New Jersey in 1993 as senior vice president
after more than 25 years in the insurance industry. "There
has been marked improvement in our nation's oral health in
the past 20 years. This is due in large part to dental plans
that educate people on the importance of proper oral care
and afford them the opportunity to undergo regular dental
exams," said VanBrunt. "Delta Dental has been a leader in
providing dental plans during this time and my goal as a board
member will be to provide plans that will allow these positive
trends to continue."
Need to reach someone in Delta Dental's Marketing Department?
Our website now includes a complete list of Marketing contacts.
The Key Contacts page includes contact names and their direct-dial
telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, areas of
responsibility and biographical information. Visit our website
at www.deltadentalnj.com.
To access the Key Contacts page directly, go to www.deltadentalnj.com/broker_portfolio/phone.html.
Tina Sparrow joined Delta Dental's Marketing Department March
13 as the account executive responsible for Hunterdon, Warren,
Somerset and Mercer counties. Tina brings more than 14 years
of managed-health-plan experience to Delta Dental. She previously
worked for ConnectiCare, Oxford Health Plans and Kaiser Permanente,
all in Connecticut. Making the switch from medical benefits
to dental benefits "is a fresh challenge, with different products
and services to learn about," she says. "It's all new, and
it's exciting." Another challenge facing Tina is learning
to navigate New Jersey's road system. She recently relocated
to New Jersey from Connecticut with her husband, Greg, and
their infant daughter, Rose. Tina spends many days on the
road, traveling to introduce herself to brokers throughout
New Jersey. "I'm the type of person who can't get out of my
cubicle without a map!" she laughs. "The brokers have been
great, helping me get to know different areas of the state."
Tina pledges to do everything she can so brokers can keep
their customers satisfied. "If you're relying on me to do
something, I will get it done," she says. "It's my reputation,
and I stand by it. I want to help you get business in the
door."
Dental benefits consistently rank among the top benefits
desired by employees. In fact, 56% of employees without dental
benefits indicate that it is the most desired benefit. But
how can companies concerned about managing benefit costs also
offer a benefit package that will attract and retain employees?
One answer is DeltaCare, a dental HMO program administered
by Flagship Health Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Delta Dental
Plan of New Jersey, Inc. DeltaCare provides employees with
a comprehensive dental program that features:
- No claim forms.
- No deductibles.
- No dollar limit of dental benefits.
- No restrictions on pre-existing conditions (except work
in progress).
- Specialty services, including periodontics, endodontics
and oral surgery.
The cost per employee for DeltaCare coverage is as little as
$12.64 per month. More information about the DeltaCare program
is available on our website (www.deltadentalnj.com/
broker_portfolio/care_rates.htm), or by contacting E.J.
Sebelle, Marketing Coordinator, at (973) 285-4232 or esebelle@deltadentalnj.com.
Subscribers in search of a participating dentist near them
can throw away their maps and instead log onto Delta Dental's
website. The website not only helps patients identify participating
dentists who practice near their home or workplace, but can
now tell them how to get there. The site now offers free instant
maps and customized directions to participating dental offices.
To check out this service, go to www.deltadentalnj.com/deltasearch/main.html
and follow the prompts. Please note that maps and directions
are accessible only if you indicate in Step 3 that you want
to search the directory to find a convenient dentist. The
map and direction option is not available if you indicate
you want to look up a particular dentist.
Standard & Poor's recently assigned its AA- counterparty
credit and financial strength ratings to Delta Dental Plan
of New Jersey. The AA- rating means that S&P considers
Delta Dental a very strong company. S&P cited Delta Dental's
extremely strong capitalization, excellent earnings, good
business position and conservative investment policies. The
rating indicates that Delta Dental clearly has the financial
capacity to meet policyholder obligations. Delta Dental Plan
of New Jersey has been designated by S&P as a Security
Circle insurer, which means that it voluntarily underwent
S&P's most comprehensive analysis and was assigned ratings
in one of the top four categories for financial security.
In the analysis, S&P noted that Delta Dental is extremely
well capitalized, as indicated by an S&P capital adequacy
ratio in excess of 400%. It also noted Delta Dental's strong
consolidated GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
income, leading market position as a dental benefits carrier
in New Jersey and Connecticut, extremely strong liquidity
and low business risk. "Our commitment to being a value-plan
dental carrier offering high-quality services through an extensive
dental provider network has been validated by earning such
a high rating from a premier independent organization such
as Standard & Poor's," said Delta Dental President and
CEO Walter VanBrunt. "It also shows the soundness of our business
philosophy and the stability of our company. Our clients know
that when they partner with us, they are with an organization
that is established and can satisfy their dental benefit requirements."
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