DELTA DENTAL: Serves 30,000 Under Healthy Families Plan
Delta Dental Plan of California officials said this week that positive trends are developing in its delivery of services through the Healthy Families program. About half of the nearly 60,000 children enrolled in the state health insurance program have chosen Delta as their dental plan and are receiving a "surprisingly" high volume of care. "About 64% of those we've signed up for Healthy Families are seeking dental services within the first six months. That's nearly 7% more care than what we'd expect with a typical commercial dental program," said Mike Kaufmann, Delta's senior vice president for state government programs. He continued, "The data tells us that our Healthy Families subscribers are highly motivated to seek and receive the preventive and restorative dental services they are entitled to under the program, and at a frequency that is far higher than anyone initially projected." According to Delta, 61% of the children covered through Healthy Families received preventive and diagnostic care from Delta providers and 9% received major restorative care. This emphasis on preventive care is likely to help limit the amount of more expensive and invasive treatment required later in life (release, 2/2).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.