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Orange County Business Journal, Aug 11-Aug 17, 2008 by Reed, Vita

HEALTHCARE: HMOs growing as companies, people watch costs

Delta Dental of California kept its top spot among dental insurance plans operating in Orange County, according to this year’s Business Journal list.

The 13 dental health maintenance organization and preferred provider organization plans on the list grew their membership 5% over the past 12 months to 1.86 million people.

The Business Journal made estimates for four dental insurers.

As with last year, Delta, which is based in San Francisco and part of the nationwide Delta Dental Insurance Co., posted the biggest gain by percentage and number of enrollees. Its total OC enrollment rose 20% to 575,531 members.

“We did see healthy growth for the past 12 months,” said Elizabeth Risberg, a Delta Dental spokeswoman.

Delta made gains in signing up school districts and unions, Risberg said. She declined to identify the clients.

Delta also is selling more dental HMO plans because employers and workers are becoming cost-conscious, she said.

“They have a cost per month and copayments,” she said. “They can save money on both ends.”

Delta was featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article on how dental plans are increasing their benefits in tough economic times.

Delta recently introduced a plan that doesn’t count diagnostic and preventive care toward the annual maximum benefits.

With a plan like that, patients are able to conserve more of their yearly benefits allowances, which generally are capped at $1,500 to $2,500, for pricier procedures like bridges and crowns, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Last year, Delta surged past SafeGuard Dental Health Plans as the county’s market leader. The Business Journal estimates that SafeGuard-part of SafeGuard Health Enterprises Inc., which was acquired by New York-based MetLife Inc. earlier this year-has 460,000 local enrollees. SafeGuard reported figures last year and said it had 460,812 local members then.

SafeGuard posted a large enrollment gain about three years ago when it bought the dental and vision HMO membership from GE Wellness Dental and Vision.

Aetna Dental, part of Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc., came in at No. 3 on this year’s list. Its OC membership was essentially flat at 150,671 enrollees from 149,690 the previous year.

Cigna Dental, part of Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp., followed at No. 4. Its local enrollment fell 4.5% to 136,900 members.

The Business Journal estimates that UnitedHealthcare Dental/PacifiCare Dental, this year’s No. 5 plan and part of Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group Inc., had 135,000 local members.

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