PacifiCare Dental, a provider of dental benefits for employers and plan sponsors in the West, has announced the introduction of its new Dental PPO Series available in California.
"Given the current uncertain economy, we know that employers and plan sponsors need affordable dental PPO plans designed to contain costs while offering employees the freedom of provider choice," said John Whalley, vice president of Sales and Account Management for PacifiCare Dental. "An extensive dental PPO network such as ours is especially meaningful to employees because they have easy and convenient access to general dentists and specialists such as oral surgeons, endodontists and orthodontists."
The dental PPO is the fastest-growing segment of the dental market, showing double-digit growth since 1996, according to the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP). Nearly a third of the dental market, or 43.7 million Americans, are enrolled in dental PPOs.
Dental PPOs are popular with employees primarily because they provide a contracted network of dentists that offer services at reduced costs and allow members the freedom to select any dentist outside the network.
The PacifiCare Dental PPO Series features expanded plan designs to accommodate employer needs and budgets and a range of deductibles and coverages to meet the needs of any size group. Benefits are covered at a percent of Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR) charges, or on a cost-saving fee schedule. The plans also offer a cost-containment option for even greater savings. Annual maximums available include $1,000, $1,500 and $2,000. The Dental PPO plans can be purchased alone or alongside a PacifiCare Dental HMO plan.
Benefits for employees include:
-- Generous coverage for preventive, basic and major services.
-- One of the largest dental provider networks in California, with more than 6,000 fully credentialed dentists, to ensure convenient locations for members.
-- Cost savings for plan participants when they use their in-network coverage.
-- Most plans offer preventive coverage at 100%.
-- Deductibles waived for preventive services (in-network and out-of-network) on all plans.
PacifiCare Dental (a California-licensed HMO dental plan) and PacifiCare Dental & Vision Administrators (third-party administrator of indemnity and PPO dental and PPO vision plans) provide HMO, PPO, and fee-for-service dental and PPO vision benefits directly to individuals and employer groups and to seniors through Secure Horizons. PacifiCare Dental & Vision/PacifiCare Dental & Vision Administrators are wholly owned subsidiaries of PacifiCare Health Systems, one of the nation's largest health care services companies. Product offerings are currently available in California, Arizona, and Nevada, and in Colorado by PacifiCare Dental of Colorado. The company is based in Santa Ana, Calif., and may be reached at (800) 622-6388 or at www.pacificare.com/dentalvision.
