Articles
One Client Tells Why They're Still with Us 35 Years Later
2003 Client Report Card Released
2003 Annual Report Published
Golf Classic Reminder
Delta Dental Promotes Peggy Marvin to Assistant Vice President of Claims
Claims, Customer Service Performance Quality Remain High in 2003
Delta Dental Revised EOB
Tech-Niques: Protecting Sensitive Subscriber Information Online
Subscribers Give DeltaCare Dental HMO High Ratings in Survey
Easy Way to Inform Subscribers About Online Subscriber News

One Client Tells Why They're Still with Us 35 Years Later

Wheaton Industries chose the fledgling Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey to provide dental benefits for its employees in 1969. Thirty-five years later, despite many changes to the business, their relationship with Delta Dental endures. David Slack, director of Health and Welfare Plans at Alcan Packaging Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care (the new name for Wheaton Industries), knows why.

"We've looked at other programs over time, but what has kept us with Delta Dental is good service, good pricing, a good network, and the ability to design the program the way we want to design it," says Slack. "You've been very flexible and very cost effective."

Slack has administered the Delta Dental program for the past 25 years. He thinks his predecessor, his father Neal Slack, may have signed the original contract. 

Alcan Packaging, based in Millville, New Jersey, employs 2,200 employees. It has been acquired twice and gone through multiple name changes in the past six years. "Delta Dental has certainly changed as our needs changed," says Slack. 

He adds, "You keep doing things right. I'm not a person who makes changes quickly or easily, but I do make them when there are good reasons. I'm a very analytical person. I've always found that Delta Dental hasn't made mistakes that have forced me to look elsewhere. You've always maintained a program that is attractive both operationally and financially.

"It's been a good relationship. Nobody has given me reasons to look elsewhere, and when I have looked to see if you're the best deal, you're still the best deal. Congratulations for a wonderful 35 years!"

2003 Client Report Card Released

Delta Dental's "Client Report Card" identifies satisfaction levels for five key plan attributes. We are pleased to report that the overall satisfaction level was 95%. 

This report is based on the findings of a mail survey conducted during the fall of 2003. Surveys were distributed to 5,800 randomly selected subscribers nationwide who had filed a claim with Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey within the previous 12 months. 

From the pool of 5,800, 1,402 subscribers, or 24 %, responded to the survey.

SOURCE: Brownstone Information Resources (February 2004)

2003 Annual Report Published

Delta Dental's 2003 Annual Report-Touching Your Life Every Day--is now available. The report features photographs of the "everyday" people who are our subscribers and perform vital services for our community-a bus driver, health-care worker, police officer, and many others who are among the more than 1.5 million people covered by Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, Inc. 

The 2003 Annual Report features:

• Performance highlights, including our 96% customer retention rate, and high customer satisfaction levels as measured by our annual benefits manager and subscriber surveys.
• Financial highlights, including our "AA-" rating from Standard & Poor's for counterparty credit and financial strength, and subscription income growth to $443.4 million.
• Philanthropic highlights, including our Foundation's support of causes such as Special Olympics New Jersey, numerous children's health and welfare organizations, dental scholarships and oral-health research.

To order your copy of the 2003 Annual Report, visit our Web site at www.deltadentalnj.com, click "Our Company" on the left navigation bar, then "Annual Report." Complete the order form on screen. The Annual Report will be mailed to you. 

Golf Classic Reminder

The 14th annual Delta Dental Golf Classic is just around the corner. It takes place on June 23, 2004, at Fiddler's Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The event benefits Special Olympics New Jersey (SONJ). SONJ is a non-profit organization that provides athletic training and competition for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Call (973) 285-4059 for more details. The invitation and registration form are available online at www.deltadentalnj.com; click "Employers," "Schedule of Events," and "Registration Form."

Delta Dental Promotes Peggy Marvin to Assistant Vice President of Claims

Delta Dental announces the promotion of Peggy Marvin to assistant vice president of Claims.

Ms. Marvin began her career with Delta Dental in June 1998 as director of Claims, responsible for the Pre-Edit, Data Entry and Dental Audit Departments. During her tenure, claims grew from 1.85 million to 2.95 million claims annually, which represents a 59 percent increase. She also assisted in the implementation of U.S. Department of Labor regulations, American Dental Association's CDT procedure codes and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy policies.

Prior to joining Delta Dental, Ms. Marvin was employed by Chubblife America as a claims manager. Before that, she worked for four years at Aetna in health and dental claims processing.

"Peggy has been instrumental in keeping our claims operation functioning efficiently, which has been imperative, especially during a period of substantial growth," said Walter VanBrunt, president and CEO. "She is integral to ensuring Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey is current with all industry standards and regulations, and will undoubtedly continue to contribute to the company's success in the future."

During her career, Ms. Marvin has taken coursework to advance her knowledge and status within the industry. She earned professional designations such as Health Insurance Associate (HIA), Associate Life and Health Claims (ALHC) and Managed Health Care Professional (MHP).

Claims, Customer Service Performance Quality Remain High in 2003

Delta Dental processed a record number of claims, while continuing to maintain excellent service levels in 2003, according to the company's 2003 Operations and Customer Service Reports. Here is a glimpse at some of our 2003 statistics:

Number of claims processed
Nearly 3 million (nearly 4% more than last year)

Average claim cycle time
9.1 business days (7.51 business days for electronic claims)

Customer Service call volume
Nearly 892,000 calls

• 634,000 handled by Customer Service agents
• 258,000 handled by automated voice response system

Despite growth in claims and the number of subscribers, call volume is down 3.5%. A growing number of dentists and subscribers use Delta Dental's Internet site for answers to their benefits, eligibility and claims questions.

Accuracy rates
Key accuracy measures--clerical accuracy, payment accuracy and dollar accuracy--all 99% or higher

Dental network size-New Jersey

• 6,076 DeltaPremier participating dental office locations
• 3,712 Delta's Advantage Program dental office locations
• 3,023 DeltaPreferred Option dental office locations

Dental network size-Connecticut

• 2,416 DeltaPremier participating dental office locations
• 1,077 DeltaPreferred Option dental office locations

Dental network growth-New Jersey
Added:

• 511 DeltaPremier office locations
• 394 Delta's Advantage Program office locations
• 369 DeltaPreferred Option office locations

Dental network growth-Connecticut
Added:

• 323 DeltaPremier office locations
• 199 DeltaPreferred Option office locations

Delta Dental Revises EOB

Delta Dental has recently revised its Explanation of Benefits (EOB) form. You will see that the term "allowed amount" has been replaced with "Amount Used for Benefit Calculation." Our intention is to provide greater clarity. In addition, both the "approved amount" and "Amount Used for Benefit Calculation" are defined in the EOB so dentists and subscribers have a clear understanding of those terms. 

Approved amount is "The total amount which the dentist is permitted to collect as payment in full for the specified service. It includes the dental benefit plan's payment as well as the patient's deductible and/or copay."

Amount Used for Benefit Calculation is "The fee amount that the dental benefit plan provides for use in calculating the dental benefit plan payment for the specified service. The dental benefit plan payment may be less than this fee amount due to patient deductible, copay, plan limitations or exclusions."

Tech-Niques: Protecting Sensitive Patient Information Online
By Linda Hetcher, Vice President Professional Services, Concurrent Technologies

The Internet makes transmitting and retrieving information easier than ever. Dental offices can use the Internet to submit claims electronically, and find details about their patients' dental benefits and claims history with a few clicks of a mouse.

But how secure is your patients' protected health information as it travels over the Internet? This article explains how information is kept safe from unauthorized eyes and maintains compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's (HIPAA's) privacy rules while using the Internet. 

Technology is available today to not only protect patients' private information, but also helps dental offices protect their own information. For example, this technology is used in secure online purchasing. Knowledge of this technology can help dental offices bolster patient trust by being able to explain how they protect patient information online. It also helps dental offices operate more efficiently, since they feel more confident using technology, and its time- and cost-saving solutions, to its fullest.

How Delta Dental protects information
Delta Dental registered its Web site through a certifying authority (CA). A CA is a third-party company that confirms the identity of a business and supports the secure transfer of data over the Internet. Delta Dental uses VeriSign, but there are other CAs as well. The popular auction site eBay uses Trust.e. However, all CAs operate similarly. 

Just below the left navigation bar on Delta Dental's home page (at www.deltadentalnj.com) is a yellow rectangular box that reads, "Web identity verified by VeriSign." Clicking on this box displays a pop-up screen from VeriSign, which provides information about the identity of the Delta Dental Web site, including the URL or domain name of the site, company name, and dates of validity of the certificate. Certificates can be purchased for one- or two-year periods.

The pop-up screen also indicates that Delta Dental has an SSL (secure socket layer) certificate. The SSL certificate is an electronic file for Delta Dental's Web server. It is an electronic credential that assures users that its transactions are done in a secure way.

A business' SSL certificate is a bit like the passport a traveler presents to authorities. The SSL certificate and passport both validate identities. 

What SSL certificates mean to Web site users
The SSL certificate ensures three things:
* Authentication. It says that the organization that owns the Web site is a legal entity and that it has the right to use the domain name. (In Delta Dental's case, the domain name is www.deltadentalnj.com.) It ensures that Web site operators are who they say they are. 
* Privacy. Data exchanged between the user and the site is encrypted, or made unreadable, until it arrives at its destination.
* Integrity. Information carried between the user's desktop and a Web site such as Delta Dental's can't be tampered with. What is sent is what is received.

Secure areas of Web sites
Certain areas of some Web sites are secure. For example, Delta Dental's Benefits Connection area is one such area. Only transactions that take place in secure areas of Web sites are truly private. While e-mail is not necessarily protected over the Internet, information sent to Delta Dental's Customer Service Department using the Contact Customer Service Form through Benefits Connection (which resides in a secure area of the Web site) is secure.

How do you know if you're in a secure area of a Web site?

Check the URL or site address. It will begin with https rather than http when in a secure area. In most cases, you must provide an ID and password to access applications and private data through a secure area. 

When in a secure area, the right hand side of the bottom toolbar will have a lock icon. Clicking on the lock provides information about the SSL certificate.

SSLs make secure Internet transactions possible
Internet users want to be assured that the Web sites they visit are legitimate, and that those sites take the proper steps to protect privacy. When you navigate the seemingly faceless 'Net, SSLs provide third-party verification that you're communicating with whom you're communicating, and that any information exchanged will travel securely. SSLs are an important component to making Internet transactions secure.

Concurrent Technologies designs and develops custom Web-based interactive solutions for a diverse clientele ranging from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organizations. In the business for over 18 years, Concurrent Technologies is a total solution provider (TSP) offering a range of services from e-business strategy to complete technology outsourcing. For more information, visit them at www.concurrenttechnologies.com or call (800) 345-3895.

Subscribers Give DeltaCare Dental HMO High Ratings in Survey

Nearly 9 out of 10 subscribers are "satisfied" or "highly satisfied" overall with their dental benefits program, according to a recent survey of Flagship Dental Plans' DeltaCare managed dental care program.

Brownstone Information Resources of Morristown, New Jersey, conducted the survey for Flagship Dental Plans. Flagship Dental Plans is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, and underwrites and administers the DeltaCare product.

The high overall satisfaction rating reflects strong subscriber satisfaction in all categories. Across the board, subscribers said they were pleased with DeltaCare's quality of care, specialty care, access, information provided, and customer service.

Subscribers gave particularly high ratings to Customer Service, with 96% being "satisfied" or "highly satisfied." Vince Farinella, Vice President, Flagship Dental Plans, believes subscriber satisfaction results from the commitment Customer Service agents have to subscribers. "Service is our essence," he says. "Customer Service is the one and sometimes only direct point of contact between us and our subscribers. We are fortunate to have a team that understands that we are here first and foremost to facilitate access to dental care for our subscribers."

In other findings, significantly more than half the subscribers surveyed reported that they felt their oral health is "somewhat better" or "a great deal better" this year. Farinella says, "This speaks to the accessibility provided by our programs, and to the quality provided by our participating general dentists and specialists."

The survey, conducted in September 2003, was mailed to a random sample of 1,400 DeltaCare subscribers.

Easy Way to Inform Subscribers About Online Subscriber News

You already know that the online Subscriber News is a free monthly publication for all Delta Dental subscribers. But do your employees? 

One way to get the word out is with a payroll stuffer. Delta Dental created the layout for one, which is on the other side of this page. Designed for easy photocopying, the layout features three payroll stuffers on an 8 1/2 x 11-inch page to minimize waste. 

All you need to do is tear out the page, copy, cut and attach to your employees' paychecks. 

Delta Dental's Subscriber News benefits both you and your employees. Each monthly issue features information about how subscribers can make the most of their Delta Dental benefits, so they don't call you as often with questions. Subscriber News covers everything from how to find a participating dentist, to where to get detailed explanations about their family's benefits, and much more. Each issue also helps familiarize subscribers with Delta Dental's Web site. The answers to most subscriber questions are just a click away at www.deltadentalnj.com. 

In addition, Subscriber News features the latest news in the areas of dental health and wellness. Readers can find out how to keep their smiles healthy between dental visits, what to do in a dental emergency, and what dental science has in store for the future. 

Subscriber News headlines are delivered to readers' e-mail inboxes each month. They can just click the link to read the full story. You and your employees will be happy to know that Delta Dental does not sell, rent, or disclose e-mail addresses to third parties. Subscribers will not receive unsolicited e-mail, or "spam," as a result of their subscription.