Because dental benefits have the potential to improve both oral and overall health, it’s important that employees make the most of their coverage. By taking some simple steps, you can help encourage your employees to leverage their dental benefits as effectively as possible.
Education
→ Ensure that employees are aware of the value their dental coverage provides.
How to minimize costs:
- Employees should visit dentists in their plan's network.
- In-network dentists ensure lower claims costs, which in turn benefits employers.
- Staying in-network offers immediate financial benefits for a self-insured group and can lead to more stable premiums in the long run for fully insured groups
- Employees should know dentists outside of their plan's network may be able to balance bill.
- To "balance bill" is what happens when a dentist's fee for a certain service exceeds the plan's allowed amount, and the dentist bills the difference.
Preventing dental disease:
- Most dental diseases are PREVENTABLE.
- Many dental plans cover the cost of preventative care (regular exams and cleanings), at 100 percent.
- Catching dental diseases early stops them from becoming costly problems later on
Maintaining overall health:
- Signs of over 120 diseases may be detected in the mouth (including diabetes and heart disease).
- Dentists look for these conditions at regular appointments with the goal of early detection.
- This can help lower medical costs by increasing treatment options and improving outcomes.
Frequent Communication
→ Clear communication can mean the difference between confidence and confusion.
Use a multi-channel approach:
- Employees need resources that address every type of learning style to gather the right information so they can make sound benefits decisions
- This could mean videos, pamphlets, emails, lunch-and-learns, etc.
Give periodic reminders:
- Continue to remind employees of the benefits if good oral health and encourage them to utilize preventive care.
- When you do, mention that they can typically visit the dentist for preventative care at little to no cost out-of-pocket.
Highlight plan changes:
- If your plan is updated, provide comprehensive information to employee to ensure they fully understand the changes.
Check-ins during open enrollment:
- Employees can make changes at open enrollment, so make sure those who want to make changes don't miss their chance.
- This is also a good time to remind employees why they should take advantage of dental benefits.
Keep employees connected year-round:
- It's important to create monthly or quarterly benefits touch points outside of just open enrollment season.
- Keeping employees engaged in your benefits program throughout the year helps employees to fully understand what their dental benefits can do for them.
Ask for feedback:
- Encourage employees to articulate the positives and negatives of their experience using their dental coverage.
- Ask them to provide information that helps prioritize coverage options.
- Always be open to suggestions!
Resources
→ Make sure employees have the materials they need to maximize their benefits.
Cost savings worksheet:
- Send a cost savings worksheet to the financial differences between using an in-network dentist verses an out-of-network dentist.
Carrier tools:
- Speak with your dental benefits carrier about any communication tools they may offer to make it easier for employees to understand and use their benefits
Mobile:
- Americans spend on average about 4.7 hours a day on their phones, so taking small key steps to move to utilizing mobile platforms can be more accessible for employees
- Whether it's looking for a dentist or grabbing your insurance card on your iPhone, moving to mobile can empower your employees to take control of their oral health.