7/12/06
Delta Dental of California, Delta Dental of Pennsylvania, and affiliated Delta Dental companies in 16 states, including the District of Columbia reported more than $1.4 billion in savings for clients and enrollees in 2005 as a result of cost-management measures. Officials with the affiliated Delta Dental member companies say the savings amounted to 25% of the $5.8 billion in total submitted claims.
The largest portion of savings—$489 million—occurred as a result of Delta Dental’s contractual fee agreements with dentists. Delta Dental’s total cost-management system, called The Delta Difference®, also netted $304 million in savings by noncovered services, $187 million through automated and manual claims review processes, $163.5 million with eligibility verification, $158.5 million in identified services that network dentists agree not to charge to Delta or the patient, and $147 million stemming from out-of-network limitations.
Delta Dental of California, Delta Dental of Pennsylvania, Delta Dental Insurance Company and their affiliates are all part of a San Francisco-based holding company with an estimated 21 million enrollees nationwide.
[www.businesswire.com, June 12, 2006]
