Industry Survey Reveals 60 Percent of U.S. Population Has Dental Coverage

 At the end of 2012, more than 187 million Americans had dental coverage, marking an increase of 11 million people when compared to the previous year, according to the recently released 2013 NADP Dental Benefits Enrollment Survey.

Since 1994, the National Association of Dental Plans has conducted an annual enrollment survey with information on Dental HMO, Dental PPO, Dental Indemnity and Discount Dental enrollment at the state and national levels. The annual reports draw upon the history of previous editions. The survey collects state level data on small-group and individual products to provide a foundation for a before-and-after look at dental benefits impacted by state Exchanges and health care reform.  

Most of the reported growth in dental benefits enrollment was projected in the 2013 NADP State of the Dental Benefits Market Report and can be attributed to an increase in employment.  In addition, there were three first-time company participants that provided data for this report accounting for about 1 percent of the total enrollment. Even with these additions enrollment grew by approximately 5 percent in 2012.

In addition to these positive spikes in dental benefits enrollment, NADP Executive Director Evelyn F. Ireland observed, “The recent launch of the State and Federally Facilitated Marketplaces (Exchanges) provides an additional avenue to expand dental coverage in future years.”

The following facts demonstrate the national trends and popularity of the various dental product options:

• The trend toward DPPO products is continuing among commercial products with 78 percent of all commercial dental benefits.
• The percent of enrollees making some financial contribution toward their coverage was 99 percent for Discount plans, 93 percent for DHMO plans, 94 percent for DPPO plans, but only 45 percent for Dental Indemnity plans.
• The population that receives dental benefits coverage through Individual policies and products doubled from last year; up from 2.4 percent to 5 percent.
• Less than .5 percent of dental benefits are integrated with medical policies and 99.5 percent are provided under a separate dental policy.

Individual and employer groups continue to purchase dental benefits, making them a core part of your benefit package presentation to your clients.

About the National Association of Dental Plans

The National Association of Dental Plans (NADP), a Texas nonprofit corporation with headquarters in Dallas, Texas, is the “representative and recognized resource of the dental benefits industry.”  NADP is the only national trade organization that includes the full spectrum of dental benefits companies operating in the United States.   NADP’s members provide Dental HMO, Dental PPO, Dental Indemnity and Discount Dental products to 160 million Americans, nearly 90% of all Americans with dental benefits. For more updates on the dental benefits industry subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter, NADP SmartBrief via www.nadp.org.