UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: HOUSE HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL WOULD DISRUPT DENTAL COVERAGE, LIMIT COMPETITION IN CONNECTICUT

- Amendments Needed to Achieve Reform Objectives -

PARSIPPANY, NJ (November 24, 2009)

Health care reform legislation passed by the House of Representatives threatens unintended consequences that would disrupt dental coverage for more than 800,000 children in Connecticut, limit competition for dental benefits, and disrupt many dentist-patient relationships, according to Walter VanBrunt, president and CEO of Delta Dental of New Jersey, the Delta Dental member company that administers self-funded dental benefits programs in Connecticut.

“Dental insurance receives less attention in the health care reform debate, in part because dental benefits are what work in health care,” VanBrunt says. “We applaud Congress for tackling the challenging issue of health care reform, and for including a children’s dental benefit in proposed health care reform legislation. However, the House legislation denies those seeking dental coverage a choice among carriers that specialize in dental specifically – and disrupts coverage for families who already have it.”

Specifically, the House bill would force Connecticut families to buy children’s dental insurance from medical insurers – without the option to purchase from more experienced and specialized dental plans. It would also force thousands of parents in Connecticut with family dental coverage today to purchase two dental plans – one for their children and another for themselves.

“This approach deprives the marketplace of competition, and deprives consumers of pricing transparency and the opportunity to choose coverage from those dental-focused carriers that are the standard in the current employer-sponsored market,” VanBrunt says. He notes that 97 percent of employer-sponsored dental contracts – covering 128 million individuals nationwide – are written separately from medical coverage.

“The House bill would disrupt coverage for an estimated 40 to 50 million children across the country, including 808,000 in Connecticut,” VanBrunt says. “Plus, there’s no guarantee that those families would be able to keep their family dentist. This disruption of coverage and splintering of dentist-patient relationships is likely unintended by lawmakers, but it would have a very real impact on American families and their dentists.”

The Senate Finance Committee bill, by contrast, includes a provision to allow children’s stand-alone dental policies to be offered in addition to medical policies, both inside the exchange and in the private insurance market. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee bill does not, however. VanBrunt says it’s unknown if access to stand-alone dental benefits will be preserved as the Senate bills are blended. Then the Senate and House versions of health care reform legislation must be finalized in conference committee.

Reform Requires Healthy Competition 

Legislation should allow for vigorous competition among different types of insurance companies, including stand-alone dental carriers and the dental-focused carriers that may be affiliated with a medical carrier, VanBrunt says. The Senate Finance bill meets those objectives.

“We support health care reform that gives Americans a choice about their dental coverage and lets people keep their current dental coverage and current dentists if that’s what they prefer,” VanBrunt says. “To protect consumers further, legislation should require that dental health coverage be offered and priced separately to ensure transparency and price competition. We’re not afraid of healthy competition, and true reform should encourage it.”

Van Brunt says Delta Dental plans to continue working with members of Congress and the executive branch to fashion legislation that meets the objectives of health care reform and is consistent with Delta Dental’s mission of advancing oral health in America.

“The Senate Finance bill gets it right by preventing disruption, ensuring competition and maintaining our nation’s hard-won gains in oral health,” Van Brunt says.

Parents: Children’s Dental Coverage “Extremely Important”

According to a recent nationwide survey, nearly four of five parents (79%) say children’s dental coverage is extremely important. The survey, conducted on behalf of the Delta Dental Plans Association, also indicated that nearly nine out of 10 parents (87%) say children’s dental care is equally as important as medical care.

“The question of how children’s dental care is provided should not be an afterthought in health care reform,” says Kim Volk, president and CEO of the Delta Dental Plans Association. “Parents should be able to choose among the best dental options for their children and be able to keep the dental coverage – and dentist – they already have.”

About Delta Dental
Delta Dental of New Jersey Inc. is New Jersey’s leading dental benefits company, providing or administering coverage to more than one million people through contracts with employers in New Jersey and Connecticut. The Delta Dental system offers seamless dental benefits administration for employer groups throughout the country and has the largest network of dentists in the nation. For more information, visit www.deltadentalnj.com.