A
DentaQuest team is headed west for the California
Association of Health Plans’ Annual Conference (October 20–22). A
team from California Dental Network, Inc.*, a DentaQuest company, is joining us
at Booth 202. This year’s conference theme, “Charting the Path to a Healthier
California” embraces how California’s health insurance market is transitioning
to a new landscape as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Within this new
environment has come a new consumer focus on health insurance, new regulations,
the creation of a state-run health insurance exchange, and the expansion of
Medicaid benefits.
It is
all good news. Despite a bumpy start, healthcare reform is spurring the
customer growth that health plans want to see. Today, millions of Californians
have insurance cards that grant them access to quality medical care. And,
there is opportunity for more growth, through dental and vision benefits.
Analysts
at Cigna surveyed 1,847 U.S. residents ages 25 to 64 with an
annual household income of at least $25,000 and found 30 percent wished they
had dental insurance. The demand clearly exists.
Dental
benefits are a highly effective way for insurance plans to grow market share
and improve the overall health of their members while managing costs.
We are
looking forward to speaking with health plans about the many ways ancillary
benefits should be viewed as a strategy for growth. We have a full suite of
products for just about every business portfolio – commercial or government, on
or off the Marketplace. And, we are also known for our ability to increase
existing dental membership, control costs and improve the quality of service
for our clients and their members.
Thanks
to efforts led by the legislature and supported by the California Dental
Association and many other organizations, including some DentaQuest Foundation
grantees, California has set itself apart as a national healthcare leader and
supporter of oral health. Recently Governor Jerry Brown approved a budget that
included preventive and restorative care and full dentures for adult Medicaid
recipients, benefits that had been eliminated in 2009.
As
several U.S. Surgeon Generals have said, you can’t have good health without
good oral health. We are looking forward to opportunities to work together in
2015.
*California
Dental Network is a wholly owned subsidiary of DentaQuest, LLC.