I am very excited to be presenting two workshop sessions at the National Association of Dental Plans’ annual CONVERGE conference, in Seattle September 20 – 23, 2010. In “Drilling Out from the Recession: Has the Economy Had an Impact on Dental Claims?” on Tuesday the 21st at 10:30, I will discuss how utilization and cost patterns changed in 2008 and 2009 as the recession took hold. This topic has been of great interest to all dental carriers for the last two years, and I’ve found both noteworthy common patterns and interesting variations among companies’ experiences.
On Wednesday at 1:00 I will present “Measuring Your Network’s Value: Pulling the Pieces Together,” a look at some key benchmark metrics for dental PPOs. I will look at trends seen in RCL’s annual network study for the last few years and discuss what I believe to be their drivers, plus share some thoughts on how companies can adjust their network strategy for their own positioning.
For more information on the conference, visit www.nadp.org. I hope many of you will be attending, and that I’ll see you in my presentations. I’m hoping for some interesting discussions, so bring your thoughts and comments. And let me know if you will be in Seattle so we can be sure to catch up!
Work is well underway on the latest update to RCL’s annual Dental PPO Network Study, the only tool in the industry providing carriers with competitive benchmarks. The study measures in-network discounts, network utilization rates, and overall network savings from the combination of the two (effective discounts). When the study is complete, I will also publish an update on national discounts and trends in networks over the past few years, looking at such questions as whether networks are still growing while also increasing discounts, and whether plan designs continue to increase incentives for patients to use a network dentist.
The new version will be released in a few months. It will evaluate network data from 2009 and include some new participating companies. Meanwhile, a report on last year’s findings is available here. For more information, contact Ruth Ann or keep checking back here.
I recently read the perfect book for a quiet actuary managing a consulting practice, and wrote a review published here by the SOA. The book is by Nancy Ancowitz, a business communication coach I have worked with over the past few years, and like all of her work it is insightful and useful. An introvert herself, Nancy has a great perspective on how we think and how we work with those chatty extroverts. Far from everyone I work with is an introvert -even the actuaries!. But since we’re half of the population some must be, and might find this useful. Take a look – and let me know what you think.
RCL has completed its fifth annual Dental PPO Network Study, analyzing the value of networks for all major carriers in the dental insurance industry. This year’s study shows that discounts in dental preferred provider networks, the most popular type of plan sold, increased in 2008 after an unusual decrease in 2007. The number of dentists participating in the average network also continues to increase, although no longer at the extremely fast rate seen last year.
“Dental insurers seem to have returned to a more disciplined approach to fee increases, balancing the need to add the dentists that patients want to see with controlling the cost of their network,” said Ruth Ann Woodley, FSA, author of the study. “They continue to closely watch total savings, on claims from dentists both in and out of their network, to optimize the balance between low costs and a broad network.”
The RCL study provides detailed data on each network’s discounts, network size and network utilization rates. It is the only tool available in the dental insurance industry that allows carriers to see how their network results line up against competitors, and is based on claim data representing over 75% of the market.
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