MetLife is offering two new free resources that offer tips for evaluating the value of dental provider networks for employers and benefits professionals.
The guide "Taking a Deeper Look at Dental Networks" and the video "Building Blocks of Dental Benefit Plans" are both available on MetLife's website.
A large network with negotiated fees for covered services is only valuable if the participants use in-network dentists, the company noted. The effective discount -- the combination of in-network utilization and discount level or total percentage savings on claims from all dentists -- may be the best measure of how often the in-network discounts are being used and the overall savings, or value, provided by the network.
Analyzing the effective discount along with a carrier's recruitment strategy, service efficiencies, and practice pattern review process, can help ensure a more informed assessment of a network's value, according to David Guarrera, DDS, vice president of MetLife Dental Products.
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