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Articles
Delta Dental Launches Two Online Services
for Benefits Managers, Subscribers
2001 Foundation Activities
A Message from Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey
President and CEO Walter VanBrunt
Resources for Benefits Managers
Staff Spotlight: Lisa Tracy
Delta Dental now offers two new online services
for benefits managers and subscribers. One service
simplifies the task of eligibility submissions for
benefit managers. The other allows subscribers to
receive instant, detailed information about their
Delta Dental benefits via the convenience of the
Internet. Both services are password-protected and
secure, and both are free.
Online Eligibility Submissions
Delta Dental's online Eligibility Submissions feature
enables benefits managers to add and terminate
subscribers online, as well as make changes, transfers
and reinstatements. Benefits managers can also
view the subscriber's profile online and view,
print and save their submissions log. (Note that
due to different family enrollment plans, eligible
family members may not display if a claim has not
yet been processed for them.)
Hundreds of benefits managers signed up for the
service in the first month alone. Even more significant,
those who try the service once usually keep using
it. More than 300 eligibility changes are now submitted
online each day to Delta Dental. Users' reactions
have been uniformly enthusiastic.
"The new online eligibility submission program
is great!"
writes a benefits administrator with a school board
in New Jersey. "It saves me a lot of time making
address changes, adding dependents, etc. In a district
this size, it's a great help. I used to have to type
individual memos and fax them for each change, which
was very time consuming."
"The system is very easy to use and makes it
simple and easy to enroll a new person," writes
the benefits manager at a Fortune 500 corporation
in Connecticut. "It is simple to follow the
directions on the screen and it goes step by step
what to do next."
To sign up for online Eligibility Submissions, benefits
managers should call 973-285-4119 or 973-285-4065
to request a password, then go to www.deltadentalnj.com,
click on "Eligibility Enrollment" in the "Manager's
Office" section, and get started.
Benefits Connection
The online Benefits Connection makes it possible
for subscribers - and their dentists - to obtain
instant, detailed information about their benefits.
Subscribers can easily determine what services
are covered by their specific plan, the percentages
that Delta Dental will cover, and whether there
are deductibles or waiting periods.
With the online Benefits Connection, subscribers
no longer need to pore through benefit booklets or
explanation of benefits statements or call Customer
Service to find the information they need. It's all
at their fingertips. In less than 30 seconds, using
a standard browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape
and an Internet connection, they can find their answer
through Benefits Connection. What's more, they can
also have their dentists (even non-participating
dentists) access this information, so subscribers
and dentists together can make informed decisions
about care.
Benefits Connection is available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year. Not only is it
easy to use, it's also safe. Information can be accessed
on a secured area of the site only by those who are
authorized to receive it - subscribers and their
dentists. The system automatically verifies and authenticates
the identity of users to protect patient privacy.
Subscribers and dentists can access this service
at www.deltadentalnj.com by clicking on "Benefits
Connection."
The Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation,
Inc. is involved in a number of public service activities
involving dental education, dental care for under-served
populations, dental research, and efforts to reduce
the cost of delivering dental care, as well as some
other miscellaneous activities, which relate to the
area of dentistry.
Education: UMDNJ
Provides funds for continuing education for dental
professionals, high-dollar educational equipment,
and scholarship activity at the University of Medicine
and Dentistry-New Jersey (UMDNJ).
Education: Scholarship Programs
for Dental Para-Professionals
Provides scholarships for dental hygienist and dental
assistant students through a variety of schools and
other post-secondary institutions that wish to encourage
students to enter this field. In pursuit of this
effort, we have granted scholarship funds to UMDNJ,
various New Jersey community colleges, the Bloomfield
Health Careers program, and other public-education
institutions. Also, provides grant funds to assist
New Jersey secondary schools to develop and maintain
education programs for students interested in the
field of dental hygiene. Grants have been made to
Mercer County, the Nutley school system, and the
Paterson school system. In some cases, funds have
been provided to outfit a classroom and training
environment.
Education: Miscellaneous
In addition to the above, the Foundation has supported
the Beth Israel Healthcare Foundation, the Fauchard
Dental Society, and the New Jersey Dental Association.
Underserved Populations
It has become a major focus of the Foundation to
provide funds to organizations, which assist those
individuals in the state who do not have access
to traditional dental care. In this regard, we
have granted funds for the assistance of the economically
disadvantaged through the Dover Free Clinic (Dover,
NJ), the Kimball Dental Clinic (Lakewood, NJ),
Virtua-West Jersey Hospital (Camden, NJ), the Henry
J. Austin Health Center (Trenton, NJ), and the
Paterson School Dental Clinic (Paterson, NJ). Also,
we have provided funds to Saint Joseph's Hospital
(Paterson, NJ) to establish a mobile dental clinic,
which will reach the most economically disadvantaged
individuals. In addition, we have funded programs
that are designed to bring dental care to the physically
disabled. Recipients of these funds have been the
New Jersey Foundation of Dentistry for Persons
with Disabilities (North Brunswick, NJ) and the
North Jersey Developmental Center Welfare Fund
(Totowa, NJ). We are in the process of working
with Matheny School and Hospital (Peapack, NJ)
to establish a clinic for children and young adults
with severe neuromuscular physical conditions.
This clinic will also serve as an educational and
training facility for UMDNJ.
Public Dental Awareness
We have sponsored programs that are designed to heighten
the public's awareness of good oral health through
the sponsoring of seminars, our Captain Supertooth
program, which brings dental education to the grammar
school level, and other programs of this type.
Also, we are the principal sponsor in educating
dentists to identify conditions of potential abuse
and neglect in their young patients (PANDA).
Research
We are in the process of evaluating potential major
research programs in the field of dental health
in conjunction with UMDNJ. Smaller research projects
have been funded in the past, but we expect this
new research initiative to be of substantial duration
and impact.
Other Foundation Activities
We have made efforts to assist in the dental provider
community through the direct delivery of continuing
education programs and funding to counsel dentists
with substance abuse problems.
The objective of the Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey
Foundation, Inc. is to advance the cause of good
dental care and oral hygiene. The program of public
outreach is increasing, and when completed will represent
one of the most substantive sources of funds in this
field within the State of New Jersey. In designing
our program, we seek to work with organizations and
institutions in this state that share our commitment
to oral health.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have
suffered a loss in the tragic and senseless attack
on America September 11. We wish to extend our deepest
gratitude to all who have bravely dedicated themselves
to the rescue and recovery efforts.
As a company and as individuals, we are doing everything
we can to help. Two employees - Justin Lahullier
of Flagship and Bob Allen of Customer Service - were
directly involved in rescue-related activities at
the World Trade Center. Many others donated blood
at our on-site blood drive, and contributed generously
to the American Red Cross and the Twin Towers Fund.
Delta Dental matched their monetary contributions
through a donation to the Red Cross.
None of us will ever forget what happened on September
11. But as our nation courageously carries on, we
at Delta Dental will strive to do the same.
Delta Dental has developed a Quick Reference Guide
and an online Eligibility Demo to help benefits managers
become comfortable making eligibility submissions
online. We also created a communication kit to help
benefits managers inform employees about Benefits
Connection.
The Quick Reference Guide includes information on:
- How to sign up the first time
- How to log on and use the online eligibility
submissions feature
- How to use each feature
- Helpful hints for users
The online Eligibility Demo takes users on a sample
tour through screens and options, and gives them
an opportunity to "play" with the system
and become familiar with how it works. To access
the online Eligibility Demo, go to www.deltadentalnj.com,
and click on "Eligibility Submissions"
in the "For Benefit Managers" section.
The link for the Eligibility Demo is at the bottom
of the teal box. Benefits managers can download a
copy of the Quick Reference Guide by logging onto "Eligibility
Submissions,"
going to the Options page and clicking on "Reference
Guide."
In addition, we developed a kit to help benefits
managers communicate to employees about Benefits
Connection. Copies of the kit were mailed to benefits
managers with the December bills. To request an electronic
version of the kit, please send an e-mail to dbelle@deltadentalnj.com.
The voice of Delta Dental's newest Marketing Service
Coordinator might sound familiar. That's because
Lisa Tracy worked in Customer Service for three years
before joining the Marketing Department in June.
In recognition of Lisa's professionalism, she was
named customer service representative of the year
in 2000 by the Garden State Chapter of the International
Customer Service Association.
"I loved working in Customer Service and talking
on the phone with people," says Lisa. "The
one thing I missed was being able to meet people
face to face and work with them in person. When the
position of Marketing Service Coordinator opened
up, I thought it would be a good chance for me to
do that."
Lisa works with Account Executives Tina Sparrow
and Barbara Strano and the brokers they serve. Her
territories include Morris, Essex, Mercer, Somerset
and Warren counties. "I've met all my brokers,
and they know they can contact me if there are any
administration problems or eligibility issues,"
she says. "My job is to provide the highest
levels of customer service I can to the groups and
brokers with whom I work."
Before joining Delta Dental, Lisa worked as a business
manager for a major cosmetics firm. She still works
weekends as a freelance makeup artist. The career
switch isn't nearly as dramatic as it appears, she
says. "In the cosmetics field you really need
good customer service skills. People have to feel
comfortable with you, or they won't let you apply
makeup on them. I guess that's where I learned to
develop a rapport with people." In her spare
time, Lisa enjoys shopping, bike riding and spending
time with her friends and family.
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