Aetna Dental ranks highest for patient satisfaction with dental insurance

Overall, patients are not only content with dental insurance plans, but their levels of satisfaction are higher than they’ve been in recent years, according to a survey from data analytics firm J.D. Power.

In 2023, overall satisfaction with dental plans was up 18 points on a 1,000-point scale to 782. In 2022, overall patient satisfaction was 764, which was a 15-point drop from 779 in 2021. Furthermore, the findings reveal that dental plan providers must implement strong communication strategies to highlight plan value and increase customer satisfaction, according to the “J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Dental Plan Satisfaction Study.”

“Last year, the results of this study showed us that dental plans must increase communication strategies to showcase plan value to increase customer satisfaction,” Christopher Lis, J.D. Power’s managing director of global healthcare intelligence, said in a press release dated June 13. “Findings from this year’s study show that dental plans took note as communication and coverage factors had the largest weighted year-over-year increases.”

The study, which was conducted in March and April 2023, was based on responses from 1,411 patients. It measured customer satisfaction with dental plan providers based on the following five factors in order of importance:

1. Cost
2. Plan coverage
3. Communication
4. Customer service
5. Claims and reimbursements

Of the dental providers, Aetna Dental ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction with a score of 816. Aetna rose significantly from its score of 777 in 2022. Humana Dental came in second with 809 points, and United Concordia Dental ranked third with 796 points, according to the survey.

In 2022, plans averaged 784 points. Humana Dental ranked the highest, scoring 794, followed by UnitedHealthcare Dental with 789 and DentaQuest with 784.

“Customers want to make sure they know their deductibles and coverage benefits -- with full transparency on out-of-pocket costs,” Lis said. “The efforts of health plans like Aetna and Humana to inform and educate insureds have not gone unnoticed and are reflected in their higher overall satisfaction scores.”