Introduction
This paper will focus on comparison between two companies that offer managed plans of care; Preferred Provider organization-PPO. A PPO is an arrangement for medical care which is subscription based (Donald, 2011). A comparison shall be drawn between Delta Dental and Humana dental. Both companies provide dental insurance to their clients. In both companies, their customers are allowed to choose any dentist that they want to treat them and no pre-authorization is needed. Their prepaid programs require that members visit specific dentists that they had chosen on signing insurance agreement. Both companies do offer more than one dental plans that the clients can choose from. Delta Dental offers three plans, which include; Delta Dental PPO, Delta Dental Premier, and Delta Care USA. While Humana Dental offers four dental plans which include PPO, traditional preferred, prepaid/DHMO, and preventive plus.
However, there are differences in the operation of these two companies. While Humana has dental plans for the business community and individuals, Dental care has no such provisions. Delta care has concentrated of business entities as their partners. They offer insurance in groups categorized as the mid and large group plans and small business offering. The Humana insurers offer services ranging from big companies to individuals who are willing to partner with them. Humana also have many products within this product section as compared to the Delta Dental Company. As compared to Humana, Delta Dental has more value added features customized that fit to their customer needs. They try to keep their relationship with their clients closer through programs like the SmileWay. Through this program they provide information by interacting through games wand other activities to encourage their enrollees on how to keep their oral health healthy (Donald, 2011). Each client is attached to a team of managers who frequently have follow up activities on their clients.
Both companies have a set of incentives that they have provided to attract and keep their clients. Both companies provide competitive prices for their product to their customers. The fact that you can visit any dentist to be treatment acts as a great incentive to their customer and the prospective customers. Dental Delta gives their clients a maximum waiver plan for their diagnosis and for the preventive services. They also have a flexible dual plan design which customers give a plan of how they are going to make payments or even change to a different product that they offer. Humana on the other hand provides free dental care to their clients occasionally in many locations within their area of operation which makes it easier for the customers to access their service. They also offer negotiated discounts to their customers on the services that they offered by choosing a preferred dentist within the PPO that a member is part of.
These dental companies try as much as possible to be within reach so that there can easily meet with their customers or to attract more clientele. They are always bent on creating new customer products when they identify them for instance; Humana has extended their product to insure eyes. This innovation has free check up frequently in more than twenty thousand locations. Humana also has a group of managers who track on customer needs and provide customized services to these particular customers. Delta Dental have a developed a system network where they ensure that each dentist is provided with customers that they can treat. In this way, no one dentist at a certain time has too many clients that they may not perform well or even far off customers that make it had to serve and have follow up activities on (Feldman, 2011).
Both companies have tried to have their presence in many places in order to satisfy their customer needs in terms of accessibility. They try to meet the promises that they make to their customers and patients. Company employees can easily interact with the insurers and submit claims that are processed fast and avoid delays that could be dissatisfying to their clients. Information is provided to their customers easily through web forums, meetings and also through periodical published by the insurers (Feldman, 2011).
The employees are encouraged to take care of their teeth through incentives for the Humana. Benefit payments keep going up every year by a percentage but only if they keep a close contact with their dentist yearly for a check up. Also within the same period of one year, if a member does not visit the dentist for preventive care, then amount to be paid will lower a set percentage.
Having weighed all the benefits of each company, I would recommend Humana Dental Insurance customer. This is because they have a huge presence in many places. They have well over 130,000 thousand dentist locations and are continually expanding. Humana have a wide range of products as compared to Dental Delta as was mentioned above. With the growing industry, Humana has expended to eye care which is available to its members at a lower cost. Annually, patients benefit from free eye care in over 20,000 places.
References
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Feldman, Arthur M. (2011). Understanding Health Care Reform: Bridging the Gap Between Myth and Reality. CRC Press.
Jacobs, R & Theda S. (2010). Health Care Reform and American Politics. U.K, Oxford University Press.
John E. McDonough (2011). Inside National Health Reform. California, University of California Press.
