Executive Summary
Almost two-thirds of Los Angeles County’s population has dental coverage, with the 15 companies on this week’s list accounting for close to 6 million people.
The popularity of dental plans continues to grow, with employers and employees both redefining their dental wants and needs. According to the National Association of Dental Plans, enrollment in dental PPOs and referral products has continued to grow, while dental HMO growth has flattened.
The paid provider organizations have proven popular by allowing patients to choose dentists outside a plan’s network, even though the consumer pays extra for the privilege. According to the NADP, dental HMO enrollment nationwide actually fell by 1 percent in 1999, while dental PPO enrollment increased by 34 percent.
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With more than a 2 million-member lead over the No. 2-ranked company on the list, Delta Dental remains the largest dental health plan in Los Angeles. The San Francisco-based nonprofit corporation is also the largest in the state, covering more than one in every three Californians with 18,000-plus participating dentists.
Along with the rest of the dental industry, Delta is suffering losses in its HMO program enrollment but has seen its PPO membership increase by 38 percent.
While Delta’s annual report cites an increase in enrollees in 1999 vs. 1998, Kaiser Permanente decided this year to terminate its participation in PMI Senior Advantage, a Delta Dental affiliated program for seniors. Kaiser cited changes in Medicare legislation as its reason for dropping the program.
In response to the loss of Kaiser membership, Delta developed a new plan designed especially for seniors and others with Medicare coverage. It hoped to convince those lost Kaiser members to re-enroll in the new program as individuals.
In addition to large government accounts such as L.A. County employees and private-sector employers such as Lockheed Martin Corp., The Gap and Restoration Hardware, Delta recently contracted with Rockwell International, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Logicon.
