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Articles
Standard & Poor's Rates Delta Dental
'Very Strong'
Help Us Keep Subscriber Addresses Current!
New Web Feature Introduced: Instant Definitions
VanBrunt Named Vice Chairman of Delta Dental
Plans Association
How Marketing Service Coordinators Can Make
Your Job Easier
Subscribers Should Verify Benefit Coverage
Before Treatment
Standard & Poor's Rates
Delta Dental 'Very Strong'
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."
Help Us Keep Subscriber Addresses
Current!
Does your group provide eligibility information
by tape or electronically? If so, please make sure
that all subscriber addresses are up to date.
This is extremely important because each electronic
eligibility update automatically overwrites all previous
information-including any address corrections that
may have been submitted directly by a dental office
or subscriber.
Incorrect subscriber addresses are one of the leading
causes of delayed benefits payments. Please help
us keep your employees satisfied with their dental
benefits program!
New Web Feature Introduced:
Instant Definitions
Delta Dental's website is now more user-friendly
than ever. Our latest feature is an online glossary,
which provides clear, straightforward definitions
for dozens of dental benefit terms. The glossary
can be used in three different ways:
- By typing in the term in question. Can't remember
what
"DeltaPreferred Option" is? Unsure of what "Alternate
Benefit" means? Just type the term you want to
know into the "Search the Glossary" box and its
definition will instantly pop up.
- By clicking on a letter. Click the letter "C" in
the glossary, for instance, and you will be linked
to 12 different terms starting with "C," from "Calendar
Year" to "Capitation"
and "Covered Family Members."
- By clicking on an unfamiliar term anywhere
on Delta Dental's website. Most underlined
words and phrases are hyperlinked to the glossary.
When you come to a term you don't know, click
it for an instant pop-up definition. It's quick,
easy and you won't even lose your place in
the article!
Access the glossary feature by clicking on the "Glossary"
button found on the left navigation bar (table of
contents) or enter the following URL: www.deltadentalnj.com/glossary/main.html.
VanBrunt Named Vice Chairman
of Delta Dental Plans Association
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."
How Marketing Service Coordinators
Can Make Your Job Easier
They are the people that benefits managers first
turn to whenever they have a question about their
company's Delta Dental program.
Delta Dental's Marketing Service Coordinators work
closely with benefits managers throughout New Jersey
and Connecticut to ensure that the job of administering
the Delta Dental program is straightforward, easy
and trouble-free.
"We do everything we can to take the weight off
the benefits managers' shoulders," says Jackie Bennett,
Marketing Service Coordinator. "I handle everything
from new-group orientation and program administration,
to helping clients resolve billing and claim issues,
handling requests for supplies, supporting open-enrollment
activities, as well as staffing Delta Dental booths
at health fairs and conventions."
When a new group joins Delta Dental, a Marketing
Service Coordinator arranges to meet the organization's
benefits administrator to go through the program
step-by-step. "We really walk the benefits
manager through the program from the very beginning," says
Angela Puma, Service Manager.
"We go through the whole application-how the
plan starts, how it is administered, the people
to contact."
"Most importantly," adds Tammi Frickle,
Marketing Service Coordinator, "we provide
benefits managers with information so
they can educate their employees about
the program."
Facilitating Answers
After a new group comes on board, its Marketing
Service Coordinator makes sure the program runs smoothly.
The Marketing Service Coordinator is usually the
first person that benefits managers call with questions
or concerns. The Marketing Service Coordinator serves
as a facilitator, ensuring that the right person
within Delta Dental is involved to resolve issues
quickly.
Some groups ask their Marketing Service Coordinator
to attend their monthly new-employee orientations,
as well as employee meetings during open-enrollment
periods. Marketing Service Coordinators will deliver
presentations to employees to explain what subscribers
should know about their Delta Dental Plan.
"I give them an overview of their particular program,
explain how subscribers benefit by using a participating
dentist, provide our customer service numbers and
tell them how to obtain up-to-date listings of participating
dentists," says Pat Barton, Marketing Service Coordinator.
Helping New Benefits Managers
When a new benefits manager assumes responsibility
for administering the Delta Dental program, a Marketing
Service Coordinator will often spend extra time to
familiarize the manager with the Delta Dental program.
"New administrators frequently have a lot of questions
about how to administer a plan," says Jackie. "We
can explain how to do so in a way that makes it very
easy. We go over everything together. By the time
the visit is over, the benefits manager feels comfortable
about administering the plan."
Jackie recently helped one new benefits administrator,
inundated by a backlog of new hires and terminations,
quickly bring the plan's paperwork up to date. "I
put together a simple worksheet that outlined
step-by-step what needed to be done to get
everything back under control," she said. Jackie
helped the administrator through the process
and provided additional assistance when it
was needed.
"Upon visiting a new benefits manager, an
area I like to stress is the importance of
our national network," says Janet Canning,
Marketing Service Coordinator. "Our network
affords the patient the choice of seeing a
participating provider anywhere within the
United States and the ability to maximize subscribers'
benefits."
Marketing Service Coordinators typically
spend several days a week on the road,
visiting benefits managers face to face.
They use the office visits to answer
questions; drop off information such
as claim forms or directions; and explain
how new programs, such as online eligibility,
work.
Says Jackie, "We want benefits managers
to know that they are not alone in dealing
with problems. There's always someone
to assist them."
How to Contact Your Marketing
Service Coordinator
Pat Barton, Marketing Service Coordinator, works
with Account Executive Kim White (Hudson and Bergen
counties). E-mail: pbarton@deltadentalnj.com
Janet Canning, Marketing Service Coordinator, works
with the Connecticut Sales Team- John Gumkowski and
Ed Maloney. E-mail: janet.canning@att.net
Jackie Bennett, Marketing Service Coordinator, works
with Account Executives Phyllis Romaine (Monmouth,
Ocean and Middlesex counties) and Tina Sparrow (Warren,
Hunterdon, Somerset and Mercer counties). E-mail: jbennett@deltadentalnj.com
Tammi Frickle, Marketing Service Coordinator, works
with Account Executives April Bonner (Passaic, Sussex
and Union counties), and Barbara Strano (Morris and
Essex counties). E-mail: tfrickle@deltadentalnj.com
Angela Puma, Service Manager, works with Account
Executive Sal Putiri (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden,
Cape May, Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem counties).
E-mail: apuma@deltadentalnj.com
Subscribers Should Verify
Benefit Coverage Before Treatment
One frequently asked question by subscribers is
why their claim was denied, especially when their
benefits booklet doesn't state that the service is
excluded.
Please remind subscribers that the benefits booklet
provides only a general description of their benefits.
For specific information about what their plan covers,
subscribers should call Delta Dental's Customer Service
Department at (800) 452-9310. Delta Dental recommends
that dentists submit pre-treatment estimates for
any treatment that costs more than $300.
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