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Articles
Come to 'Delta Dental Day' This Fall
for Answers to Your FAQs--And You Could Win $100!
Golfers, Mark Your Calendars for June 4, 2002!
Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Receives 'AA-'
Rating from Standard & Poor's for Second Consecutive
Year
'Benefits Connection' to Launch Shortly
Incentive Available for New Electronic Claim Submitters
Help Us Verify Student Eligibility to Ensure
Faster Claims Processing
Top 5 Reasons for Claims Payment Delays--And
What You Can Do About It
Checklist to Prevent Claims Delays
Foundation Grant to Benefit Underserved in
Camden
Come to ‘Delta Dental Day’ This
Fall For Answers to Your FAQs—And You Could
Win $100!
Do you know…
The quickest and easiest way to
submit a claim to Delta Dental?
How to use the Internet to verify
a patient’s benefits?
What documentation you need to
submit with claims (and what you don’t)?
The answers to these and many
other questions will be provided at “Delta
Dental Day,” a free half-day program offered
this fall for dental office staff members.
The educational seminar will cover
topics including explanations of our dental plans,
hints and advice for working effectively with Delta
Dental, how to submit claims, how to use the Internet
to get the information you need while saving time,
and much more.
Everyone who attends will be eligible
for a drawing to win a $100 American Express gift
certificate.
“We want to address all
the questions that dental staff members have,” says
Beatrice Buccos, Manager, Network Development. If
you have a question or subject you’d like to
see covered at Delta Dental Day, please contact Bea
Buccos by email (bbuccos@ deltadentalnj.com) or fax
(973-285-4140).
All classes will be from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m.; registration begins at 8:30 a.m. on the
day of the session. Registration forms were mailed
to dental offices in mid-August; if you did not receive
one, please contact Bea Buccos at (973) 285-4201
or via email at the above address.
Locations and dates follow:
Hilton
Hasbrouck Heights
(Garden Room)
650 Terrace Ave.
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604
Wednesday, September 26, 2001
Marriott
Princeton Forrestal Village
201 Village Boulevard
Princeton, NJ 08540
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Headquarters Plaza Hotel
(Regency Room)
3 Headquarters Plaza
Morristown, NJ 07960
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Delta Dental Day will take place
in Connecticut next spring.
Golfers, Mark
Your Calendars for June 4, 2002!
That’s the date for the
Twelfth Annual Delta Dental Classic. This year’s
event drew 126 participants and raised $50,000 for
Special Olympics New Jersey. We hope you’ll
join us for a great day to benefit a worthy cause!
Delta Dental
Plan of New Jersey Receives ‘AA-’ Rating
from Standard &
Poor’s for Second Consecutive Year
Delta Dental has just completed
Standard
& Poor’s most comprehensive analysis and
received an
‘AA-’ counterparty credit and financial
strength rating for the second straight year. The
strong rating solidifies Delta Dental’s position
as New Jersey’s leading dental benefits carrier,
and makes the company the most attractive alternative
for businesses looking to improve benefits packages
through the implementation of a dental plan.
Based upon the analysis, Standard &
Poor’s predicts a stable outlook for Delta
Dental, citing its extremely strong capitalization
and good business position as major ratings factors.
“To maintain our status as New Jersey’s
leading and largest dental benefits carrier, we consistently
evaluate every aspect of our operation to ensure the
quality and accessibility of our services, the satisfaction
of our members, and the financial stability of our
business,” said Delta Dental President and CEO
Walter VanBrunt. The high rating from Standard & Poor’s
confirms that Delta Dental is a secure, well-established
company that has the financial resources to deliver
on its commitments to dentists and members.
‘Benefits Connection’
to Launch Shortly
Benefits Connection, a new online service
that will make it possible for dental offices to receive
instant information about their patients’ Delta Dental
benefits via the Internet, is preparing to go live. The
online service is available 24 hours a day, seven days
a week, 365 days a year. Access to information is password-protected
and secure.
Dental offices can use Benefits Connection
to quickly access information about a patient’s eligibility
and benefits coverage. Extremely user-friendly and intuitive,
Benefits Connection provides vital information that dental
offices need to better serve their patients. Dentists can
view onscreen and print out details about their patients’
coverage, so they, together with their patients, can make
informed decisions.
Benefits Connection will also save your
office time by eliminating the need to call Delta Dental’s
Customer Service Department about a patient’s eligibility.
In less than 30 seconds, you can find your answer through
Benefits Connection!
Watch for more information about Benefits Connection shortly.
Incentive Available
for New Electronic Claim Submitters
By now you’ve probably read a lot in Dental News
and elsewhere about the benefits of EDI (electronic data
interchange) for submitting dental claims.
So isn’t it time you started sending your claims
electronically?
If you’ve put it off, here’s something to get
you motivated. Start submitting all your claims to Delta
Dental for two consecutive weeks and we’ll send your
office a check for $100!
We can make this offer available to all dentists in Connecticut
and New Jersey because we are confident that once you begin
submitting electronically you won’t return to paper.
Offices that are eligible
You are eligible to participate in this incentive program
if:
-
You have practice management software and still print
claims to paper, or
-
You don’t yet have practice management software,
but are thinking about acquiring it
To register
Step 1
- If you have practice management software: Contact
your software vendor and clearinghouse to let them know
you are ready to begin sending e-claims. They will tell
you what you need to do to get started.
- If you need practice management software: Contact your
Dental Network Coordinator at (888) 396-6641 to request
a list of our MVPs that offer discounts to participating
Delta Dental providers. Once you decide on a software
vendor and clearinghouse, let them know you want to send
e-claims. They will tell you what you need to do to get
started.
Step 2
- Contact your Dental Network Coordinator at (888) 396-6641
and say that you’re ready to start sending claims
electronically. Delta Dental will track your progress
over the next two weeks.
Once you have submitted claims electronically for the
two-week period, you will receive a check for $100.
In order to receive this incentive, you must submit every
claim electronically (that means no paper claims and no
faxing!) for a minimum of two consecutive weeks.
To be eligible, be sure to register with your Dental
Network Coordinator before October 1, 2001, and begin sending
your claims electronically no later than November 1, 2001.
Register today at (888) 396-6641!
Help Us Verify Student Eligibility
to Ensure Faster Claims Processing
It’s now easier than ever for college-age patients
to document their student status with Delta Dental. Delta
Dental has developed a new Student Documentation Verification
Form, which enables subscribers and their dependents to
quickly confirm student status without having to submit
any other paperwork
In the past, college-student dependents were required to
provide Delta Dental with a copy of a paid tuition statement,
a registrar’s certificate of grades showing at least
12 credits, or a current validated student ID card with
their first claim of the school year. Now, students have
a choice of submitting either the Student Document Verification
Form or a copy of one of these documents.
One common reason for delayed claims payment is because
of missing student documentation. Please help us eliminate
delays by reminding college-age patients to submit their
student documentation.
For your convenience, a copy of the Student Documentation
Verification Form follows. Please feel free to make additional
copies if needed. You may also download a copy of the form
from the “Dentist’s Office” section of
our website at www.deltadentalnj.com.
Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey
Student Document Verification Form
P.O. Box 222, Parsippany, NJ 07054
Phone: 1-800-452-9310 Fax: 973-285-4141
Dear Subscriber,
Your dependent child has reached the
age limitation requiring verification that he/she is registered
as a full-time student, attending an accredited college
and currently taking at least 12 credits. All outstanding
claims will be reprocessed upon receipt of this form and
any other information requested. The dental office does
not need to resubmit any claims. This form is required
to be filled out at the beginning of every fall school
term to minimize delay of processing any claims. Return
this form by fax or mail to the attention of our Correspondence
Department.
| Subscriber
Name: |
Subscriber
Social Security Number: |
| Subscriber
Date of Birth: |
Cobra
Plan: Yes or No (Please circle one) |
| Employer
Name: |
Delta
Assigned Group Number: |
Dependent's secondary coverage with Delta Dental Plan of
New Jersey only:
| Subscriber
Name: |
Subscriber
Social Security Number: |
| Employer
Name: |
Delta
Assigned Group Number: |
| Subscriber
Signature: |
Date: |
| Dependent
Name: |
Dependent
Date of Birth: |
| Name
of College: |
Semester:
Fall or Spring (circle one) Year: |
| Number
of Credits Taking: |
College
Phone Number: |
By signing this form, I attest that
all information is complete and accurate. I authorize Delta
Dental Plan of New Jersey to contact the college for further
verification if considered necessary. If the above information
should change, I will inform Delta Dental Plan
of New Jersey immediately.
Subscriber’s Signature:
Date:
Print Name:
Dependent Signature:
Date:
Print Name:
Top 5 Reasons for Claims Payment Delays—And
What You Can Do About It!
Delta Dental works diligently to pay
claims quickly and accurately. Last year more than 80%
of all claims were paid within 15 calendar days. For electronic
claims, payment is even faster—an average of 7.45
calendar days. When claims are delayed, it’s
usually for an easily preventable reason. For your convenience,
we developed this chart listing the top reasons for claims
delays and what you can do about it.
Checklist to Prevent
Claims Delays
| Reason
for Delay |
Tips
to Prevent It |
| Incomplete
or incorrect subscriber information
|
-Make sure
the subscriber's Social Security number on the claim
is correct. (It must match the Social Security number
provided to Delta Dental by the subscriber's employer.)
-Make sure that the
group name and number are correct. (This information
can help Delta Dental identify the subscriber if
the Social Security numbers don't match.)
-Make sure to include
the subscriber's current address.
|
| Diagnostic
materials are not attached when necessary
|
-Refer
to the Participating Dentist Handbook for a list of
which procedures require diagnostics.
-Be sure all diagnostics
are clearly labeled with the patient's name, subscriber's
Social Security number, and dentist's name and address.
If it is a duplicate and you do not require it to
be returned, please indicate this as well.
-Consider sending
digitized x-rays and attachments instead of hard
copies through National Electronic Attachment (NEA).
|
| Invalid
procedure codes or unclear descriptions
|
-Be sure
to use the current CDT-3 procedure code for each service
rendered.
-Try to avoid using
miscellaneous procedure codes. If unavoidable, be
sure the description of the service is clearly provided
in the "Remarks" section of the claim.
|
| Patient
information is not complete
|
-Be sure
to complete the patient information section of the
claim form in full.
-Verify that the patient's
name correctly matches the name provided to the employer
when enrolled. (For example, if the patient is enrolled
as Elizabeth, enter patient name as Elizabeth, not
Betty, on the claim form.)
-Verify that the patient's
date of birth matches the date of birth provided
to the employer when enrolled.
-Attach documentation
of full-time student status for all college age patients
when filing the first claim for the new school year.
-If other coverage
exists, always indicate so. If Delta Dental is secondary,
send a copy of the primary payer EOB (if paper claim)
or the prime payment amount (if electronic).
|
| Claim is
sent to the wrong Delta Dental office
|
-Even if
a patient resides in New Jersey or visits a dentist
in New Jersey, a Delta Dental Plan in another state
may handle his or her claims. Verify which office handles
a patient's claims before submitting to Delta Dental
Plan of New Jersey. |
Foundation Grant to Benefit Underserved
in Camden
In the 1890s, one of the first hospital dental clinics
to serve indigent patients was established at West Jersey
Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. More than a century later,
the hospital is still providing dental care to the underserved—and
can now reach more patients than ever thanks to a grant
from the Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation.
The Foundation recently provided Virtua, West Jersey Hospital
with funding to hire a full-time certified registered dental
assistant for one year.
"The receipt of the Delta Dental Foundation
Grant will enable us to treat a larger segment of the working
poor population in the Camden area," says John A.
Petrone, DDS, Program Director of the General Practice
Dental Residency at Virtua, West Jersey Hospital.
The hospital previously had two dental assistants
working with four dental residents. Dr. Petrone says the
addition of a third dental assistant will enable the hospital
to treat 20 percent more patients than before. "We
believe the addition of a third chair side will result
in an increase in the delivery of quality dental care to
our patients who are desperately in need," he says.
The Dental Center at Virtua, West Jersey
Hospital serves two major functions. The first is to house
the Residency Program and the second is to serve the population
of the City of Camden. Camden is a federally designated
dental underserved area. The Dental Center's patient population
consists mostly of Medicaid recipients and indigent people,
some of whom qualify for Charity Care.
The Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation
supports a number of programs that bring dental services
to the indigent and underserved populations.
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