Content area
Full Text
In dentistry, a little preventive medicine goes a long way.
Taking this adage to heart, dental insurance carriers have been expanding dental options for enrollees during the past few years.
Many clients now have the choice of joining a dental HMO (health maintainence organization), a PPO (preferred provider organization), or a traditional plan, also known as indemnity or fee-for-service.
Historically, traditional coverage and PPOs have dominated the market, but HMOs have grown more popular during the past four or five years, and continue to garner an increasing share of the market, industry sources said.
"There is no question in anyone's mind that market penetration, which was once lopsided toward indemnity, soon will be lopsided the other way, toward managed care," said Robert Nettinga, president of National Dental Health. That company ranked No. 8 on the San Diego Business Journal's list of Dental insurance carriers, which ranks dental plans by the number of local enrollees.
This year marks the first time the list has been compiled, and therefore no comparative data is available, but industry sources describe the market as largely untapped and surprisingly strong. That strength is in part due to the skyrocketing costs of medical benefits, said Jeff Album, a company spokesman for Delta Dental Plan of California, No. 1 on the list.
Employers have had to shift medical costs onto employees, and that's hurt relations.
"In order to take the stink out of cutbacks, a dental benefit is something nice a company can offer employees," Album said.
Additionally, the industry has gotten better at providing affordable programs that target the small to mid-size firm.
San Diego is Delta Dental's hottest market right now,...