DentaQuest
is marking the one year anniversary of our management of Tennessee’s Medicaid
Dental Program, TennCare. We are very pleased to announce that during this
first year, we reached or exceeded all benchmarks required by the state of
Tennessee.
Our goal
with the TennCare dental program was to make it easy for members to visit the
dentist and keep their smiles healthy. The importance of establishing good oral
health early in life often goes overlooked despite the fact that it is a
foundation for lifelong overall health and wellness.
Upon
winning the TennCare contract, our first task was to create and manage a dental
program that satisfied the needs of members, the state and dentists. We are
honored to have the opportunity to work with TennCare Dental Director Dr. James
Gillcrist and the dedicated staff of Tennessee’s Medicaid Dental Program in
delivering a program that has increased member participation, while
significantly reducing program costs. Most importantly, we’re making sure
members receive the right care at the right time and in the right amount.
Since
October 1, 2014, DentaQuest worked to develop a high-value network from the
ground up with a focus on access, quality and efficiency.
- The current network of 869 dentists ensures that 750,000 Tennessee children eligible for dental benefits receive the highest possible quality of care.
- Today, there is 1 dentist for every 857 members. This ratio exceeds Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommended ratio of 1 provider for every 1,500 patients.
- Members are located 3.4 miles from the closest DentaQuest dentist.
- The trending dental screening percentage is 90% – surpassing the requirement of 80%.
11
days, 21 hours and 10 hours – That’s the amount of time, on average between the
scheduling of an appointment and a member being seen by a provider for routine,
urgent care and emergency appointments, respectively.
- Routine appointments are being scheduled within 11 days. [The benchmark is 21-days]
- Urgent care appointments are scheduled within 21-hours. [The benchmark is 48 hours]
- Emergency care appointments are scheduled within 10-hours. [The benchmark is 24 hours]
We are
very proud to note that in every instance, we surpassed the required benchmark.
DentaQuest
is dedicated to remaining transparent and accountable in our oversight of the
program and has released a Report for the Community including findings from
TennCare’s November 2014 analysis of the network. Please visit
http://www.dentaquest.com/tn/ to download a digital version of the full report.