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Articles
Delta's Advantage Program Fee Update
Announced
Web Site Links Dentists to Participation Benefits
Congratulations to Raffle Winner Dr. Lawrence Lipton
September Delta Dental Days Scheduled
Claims Submission Reminder: Limit 'Comments'
Delta Dental Patient Direct Network Continues to Grow
Two Sentences That Can Help Your Patients
Join Our Office Managers Council to Share Best Practices
Countdown to NPI: 9 Months
Golf Outing Winners Announced
New Controller Joins Delta Dental
Delta's Advantage Program Fee
Update Announced
Fees for Delta’s Advantage Program in New
Jersey increased on July 1, 2006. New fee schedules
were sent to all Delta’s Advantage and Delta
Dental PPO dentists during the first week of July.
If you did not receive an updated schedule, please
contact your dental network coordinator at (888)
396-6641. Your dental network coordinator can also
provide information about participating in any of
our Delta Dental plans.
Web Site Links Dentists to Participation
Benefits
Delta Dental’s Web site, at www.deltadentalnj.com,
is the place for answers. The “Dentists” section
can help you find information quickly and easily,
from details about patient benefits to whether you
need to file documentation with a claim.
Here is a quick glimpse of some of our Web site features:
Benefits Connection
This secure area of our Web site connects you to
information about patient benefits and claims. Use
the “Patient Inquiry” feature to verify
patient benefits and eligibility. All you need are
your patient’s last name, Social Security number
and date of birth.
Benefits Connection’s “Claims Inquiry” feature
shows a two-year summary of your patient’s
claims. You can also use Benefits Connection to file
online claims, including COBs and PTEs.
In-Net Program
Participating dentists can receive discounts on many
dental-related products and services. These include
practice management software, training programs,
cell phones, office phones, and more. Using In-Net
could save your practice thousands of dollars a year.
Our Web site lists up-to-date information about In-Net
vendors and how to contact them. Note that In-Net
vendors deal directly with you. Delta Dental does
not guarantee the performance or continued participation
of In-Net vendors.
Required Documentation Charts
Delta Dental reduced the number of x-rays and attachments
required for claims. Before submitting x-rays or
attachments, check our Web site to see if they are
required. Our Web site lists which CDT-2005 procedure
codes and conditions require documentation.
Electronic Attachments
Do you submit claims online or electronically? Save
time by sending required documentation electronically.
Our Web site lists vendors that can help you get
started.
Schedule of Events
Delta Dental offers seminars and training programs
for dentists and their staff members. Check our online “Schedule
of Events” for an up-to-date list of programs.
Key Contacts
Find contact information for Customer Service, Professional
Relations and other key departments.
Dental News
Current and past issues of Dental News are
available online.
Congratulations to Raffle Winner
Dr. Lawrence Lipton
Dr. Lawrence Lipton, a pediatric dentist with offices
in Fairfield and Bridgeport, CT, won our raffle at
the Connecticut State Dental Association Convention
in May. Dr. Lipton received a $250 Visa gift card.
The raffle was open to dental offices that are interested
in starting to file electronic claims.
Electronic claims offer many advantages to dental
offices. Payment is about 50% faster than with paper
claims. They also eliminate envelope and postage
costs, and save staff time.
For more information about the benefits of electronic
claims, visit our Web site at www.deltadentalnj.com.
Click “Dentists” and “Electronic
Claims Submission.” Or contact your Dental
Network Coordinator at (888) 396-6641 (NJ) or (860)
635-3152 (CT).
September Delta Dental Days Scheduled
Delta Dental Days, a free half-day educational workshop
for dentists and their staff members, will take place
at two New Jersey locations in September.
Southern New Jersey: September 6
Tropicana Hotel and Casino
Atlantic City, NJ
Northern New Jersey: September 13
Skylands at Randolph
Randolph, NJ
Delta Dental Days programs cover:
* Helpful tips for claims submission
* News about the National Provider Identifier (NPI)
number
* How to submit electronic claims
* The appeals process
* Preventing insurance fraud
* Using online Benefits Connection to check patient
benefits and file claims
For registration information, contact your dental
network coordinator at (888) 396-6641. Participants
will receive CE credits.
Claims Submission Reminder: Limit
'Comments'
Most online claims are immediately processed and
approved for payment. If yours isn’t, it may
be because you included information in the “Comments” field.
The system automatically holds all online claims
that include comments for review.
Please include Comments only when they are
necessary to process a claim (e.g., student
status, other carrier COB information). Non-essential
comments, such as “thank you” or “submitted
a claim on this date,” will delay your claim
unnecessarily.
Delta Dental Patient Direct Network
Continues to Grow
More than 1,800 New Jersey dentists have joined
the Delta Dental Patient Direct network. Have you?
Delta Dental Patient Direct is open to New Jersey
residents without dental insurance. Members receive
access to New Jersey dentists who provide dental
care at fees no higher than the Delta Dental Patient
Direct fee schedule.
The Delta Dental Patient Direct network is open to
participating Delta Dental Premier specialists and
all Delta Dental PPO dentists in New Jersey. To find
out how you can join this network, contact your dental
network coordinator at (888) 396-6641.
If you have patients without dental insurance, please
let them know about Delta Dental Patient Direct.
They can call (877) TOOTH-07 or visit the Delta Dental
Patient Direct Web site at www.patientdirectnj.com for
more information or to join.
Two Sentences That Can Help Your
Patients
Many patients forget that each Delta Dental plan
has a different dental network. Dentists may participate
in one or more of our plans: Delta Dental Premier,
Delta’s Advantage Program and Delta Dental
PPO. They also participate in DeltaCare. There’s
also our Delta Dental Patient Direct program.
Patients need to know whether you participate
in their particular plan.
The next time a patient asks whether you participate
with Delta Dental, please answer, “We participate
in X and Y plans with Delta Dental. What coverage
do you have?”
This will help eliminate confusion, and keep your
patients smiling!
Join Our Office Managers Council
to Share Best Practices
Are you a dental office manager? Do you want to
learn more about Delta Dental? Do you want to share
ideas and best practices with other office managers?
If you answered “yes,” our Office Managers
Council is for you. The Office Managers Council provides
a forum for dental office managers and our dental
network coordinators to learn from each other.
“Council members work for general dentists and specialists,” says
Beth DeCapio, dental network coordinator. “Some are with small offices.
Others are in practices with many dentists and several locations.”
Meetings usually include news about new Delta Dental
programs. Office managers discuss issues that affect
their practice, such as best practices for filing
claims. They also provide feedback about our programs,
which help us improve. “Everybody comes away
learning something new,” says DeCapio.
If you’re interested in learning more about
the Office Managers Council, contact dental network
coordinators Beth DeCapio or Charlene Yurko in New
Jersey at (888) 396-6641, or Kim Alberico in Connecticut
at (860) 635-3152.
We hope to schedule a Connecticut Office Managers
Council meeting in Connecticut this fall.
Countdown to NPI: 9 Months
Dentists, you have just nine months to register
for your National Provider Identifier (NPI) number.
The deadline is May 23, 2007.
The NPI is required for any dentist who submits electronic
claims or attachments, or uses the Internet to verify
patient eligibility or check claim status. It can
also provide many benefits for those dentists who
do not perform these functions.
Delta Dental developed a free guide to help dentists
understand what they need to know about applying
for and using the NPI number. To download the guide,
please visit our Web site at www.deltadentalnj.com;
click “Dentists,” and then “The
National Provider Identifier: What Dentists Need
to Know.”
Golf Outing Winners Announced
The Sixteenth Annual Delta Dental Classic, which
raises funds for Special Olympics New Jersey (SONJ),
took place in June at Fiddler’s Elbow Country
Club.
Contest winners include:
1st Place Low Gross (Women): Dr.
Leslie Ann Skurla
1st Place Low Gross (Men):
Jim Schulz
1st Place Low Gross Team:
Dr. Charles Perle
William Montanaro
Dr. Leslie Ann Skurla
Dr. Tom Paglione
Contributions for this year’s event are still
being tallied. Over the past 15 years the Delta Dental
Classic has raised more than a half million dollars
for SONJ. SONJ is dedicated to empowering individuals
with mental disabilities to become physically fit,
productive, and respected members of society through
sports training and competition. Special thanks to
all of our participants and sponsors.
New Controller Joins Delta Dental
Delta Dental of New Jersey is pleased to announce
that Stephan Hankowski recently joined the Delta
Dental Accounting Department as Controller. In this
capacity Hankowski is responsible for overseeing
the Accounting Department, maintaining the books
and financial records of the company, preparing the
financial statements and related filings, participating
in preparing the annual budget for Delta Dental and
its subsidiary companies, managing investment accounting,
accounts receivable, accounts payable, and commissions.
Prior to joining Delta Dental, Hankowski worked at
Crum and Forster Insurance as the manager for financial
reporting. He is a CPA and an alumnus of Seton Hall
University where he earned a bachelor of science
degree in accounting.
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