DES MOINES, Iowa--With an estimated 3.2 million people now covered by high-deductible health plans/health savings accounts, brokers are asking for ways to expand this success beyond health to other benefit products.
Through a national tour targeted towards brokers, representatives from the Principal Financial Group will introduce new dental benefit designs aimed to meet this demand with a focus on preventive care and individual involvement.
"Dental products have already been consumer driven because most encourage preventive procedures with minimal out-of-pocket expenses and also include a cost sharing component for additional procedures. With this in mind, we combined innovative benefit designs that take the best of the traditional dental benefit model with greater flexibility and new consumer-oriented options," said Theresa McConeghey, dental product director for The Principal.
"In this changing benefit environment, we must be responsive to the needs of brokers. This is why we are going out to cities across the country to discuss new sales opportunities and ideas for offering consumer driven dental to employers and their employees."
Offering access to the same broad network of providers, consumer driven dental has greater flexibility and choices for employers looking for new ways to battle shrinking benefit budgets. Much like HDHP/HSAs, consumer driven dental plans focus on preventive care and individual involvement as a way to manage costs.
Employers save money with new plan designs, while participants save through network discounts and routine dental care coverage that often prevents more costly procedures.
"Consumer driven health encourages participants to play a larger role in health decisions. This is just as important in dental plans due to the strong tie between oral health and overall health," said McConeghey. "As we empower consumers to make more benefit decisions, we must also give access to information about best practices, quality and cost."
The Principal provides a number of interactive tools to help members get the most out of their dental benefits through the Dental Health Center located on www.principal.com.
Members can access information on procedures, treatment plans, network providers and basic oral health information. The site includes a cost estimator, which calculates dental costs in a given zip code and a database of network providers who offer discounted charges and fees.
The Principal Financial Group dental tour will take place in cities across the country throughout April and May 2006. Product experts will be presenting the seminar along with other company representatives.
To learn more about the tour or dental solutions offered by The Principal, brokers should contact their Principal Financial Group representative or visit www.principal.com.
