EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bucking the national trend, the 15 largest dental plans in Los Angeles County saw a 5.5 percent increase in enrollment in 2003, to more than 6.7 million enrollees.
Running counter to the local trend was PMI Dental Health Plan, which shed more than 225,000 members and fell to No. 5 this year from No. 2 in 2002. The decrease was attributed to declines in enrollment as well as a large medical carrier discontinuing its dental plan option.
The sharp decline by PMI allowed three dental plans to jump ahead of it, including MetLife, which climbed to second place after adding 20,700 members, to a total of 422,900 enrollees in L.A. County.
Aetna Inc. debuted on the list at No. 6, with 291,500 dental plan members. Fortis Benefits Insurance Co. returned to the list, coming in at No. 8 with 178,923 enrollees.
Nicole Taylor
THE PACESETTER
Delta Dental Plan of California
Delta Dental Plan of California, accounting for more than half of total enrollees among the 15 largest dental plans in L.A. County, once again sits atop the list. The plan added 14,400 members in 2003, a 0.4 percent increase over the year earlier, and has 3.7 million enrollees in the county and 13.2 million statewide.
Headquartered in San Francisco, non-profit Delta dominates the California landscape, with 92 percent of the state’s dentists participating in its plan. Delta, which processed 22.1 million claims in 2002, offers fee-for-service, PPO and HMO plans through its affiliate PMI Dental Health Plan.
Despite the economic downturn and some client turnover, Delta gained a few key accounts over the past year in L.A. County, including a major school district and a retail grocery chain, according to spokeswoman Elizabeth Risberg.
“The economy has an effect on what employers see as ancillary,” said Risberg. “Dental benefits can be seen as supplemental and get cut. Employers are being conservative.”
Delta is part of a holding company called Dentegra Group, which it formed with Delta Dental of Pennsylvania in 2000. One of the largest dental benefits systems in the nation, the holding company and its affiliates have a combined 19.7 million enrollees nationwide.
“We’ve had a good year relative to the market,” said Risberg. “Last year we added 1 million enrollees (systemwide). Given the state of the economy, things seem to be better this year.”
Nicole Taylor
