In order to address the inconsistencies in the price of dental treatment and cater for the employers with different budgets, providers have to ensure they provide choice and flexibility. Denplan, for example, covers both NHS and private dental cover. The levels of reimbursement depend on the amount of premium paid. Its base product for instance covers 100% of treatment on the NHS, the level of which is uncapped, while its more expensive products cover private treatment for complex procedures such as crowns and bridges.
Colin Perry, corporate channel manager at Denplan, says: “An employer might choose to make all of those products available to their employee or they might choose to restrict them.”
Depending on its budget, an employer could choose to fund the entire cost of the premium, split it with the employee or offer it as a voluntary benefit, which is fully funded by the employee.
THE ROLE OF THE INTERMEDIARY
It is also common for providers to allow intermediaries to shape policies to suit the needs of their corporate clients. For example Westfield Health’s cash plan Mosaic can be weighted towards a workforce's health needs because it can be offered with only two of the core benefits: dental, optical, therapies and consultations. Westfield Health’s Shires says: “In theory an intermediary could come along and design a plan for a client with just dental and another benefit on it.”
An employer may have worked with its broker to design a product that suits the needs of its workforce, but it will all be in vain if employees do not understand how it works or appreciate its value, especially in an environment when there is such widespread confusion over dental charges.
Providers are keen to point out that they help their corporate customers clearly communicate to employees what their entitlements are under any given scheme and what they need to do to make a claim.
Rendell says: “We have posters, emails, text for intranet and we have a team of 18 development officers that go to work sites to promote the scheme and explain how it works.”
Dental providers need to be creative and responsive to current dental care needs if they want to compete for business from intermediaries that are under increasing pressure to deliver value for money for their clients.
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Key statistics
18% of the UK population is offered access to a dental plan through their employer (Source: Cigna UK HealthCare Benefits’ Dental Consumer Survey 2012)
7% of the UK population is covered by an employer arranged dental plan. (Source: Cigna UK HealthCare Benefits’ Dental Consumer Survey 2012).
56% of employers cited price as one of the most important factors influencing their choice of provider (Source: Denplan’s Dental Benefits Survey 2012).
32% of organisations are considering offering a dental plan (Source: Denplan’s Dental Benefits Survey 2012).
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Key measures dental providers are taking to ensure their products are up to scratch