Online Tool Giving Consumers Easy Personalized Information About Dental Treatment Costs

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 02 Feb 2006 - 12:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

CIGNA Dental has taken the guesswork out of planning for costs associated with dental treatment by launching a first-of-its kind Dental Treatment Cost Estimator. With 117 million adults now using the Internet to find health related information(1), this comprehensive web-based service, which allows CIGNA Dental members to estimate and plan for their dental care costs before they receive services, is one of the next generation of information tools.

"Consumers have a growing need for actionable information to help them make decisions about their health care, including their dental care," said Karen Rohan, president of CIGNA Dental. "Having this cost information prior to receiving services can help consumers get the most value from their dental coverage and help them to maintain good oral health."

According to the National Association of Dental Plans, of the 159 million Americans covered by some form of dental benefits, 19% pay entirely for their own dental benefit and 48% share the cost of their dental premium or fees with their employer. With this innovative new tool, CIGNA Dental members can select the procedure or treatment they are considering and estimate what their out-of-pocket cost would be prior to seeking care. Estimates are based on their plan information and are adjusted for geographic location. Members can access the Dental Treatment Cost Estimator by logging on to http://www.myCIGNA.com.

The tool allows members to:

-- plan for treatment(s) or procedure(s) according to their budget;

-- compare the financial impact of visiting an in-network or out-of- network dentist;

-- help determine how much money to allocate to their Flexible Spending Account;

-- search by key words, procedure codes, treatments and popular topics;

-- access a dental glossary with key dental terms;

-- locate a CIGNA Dental network dentist;

-- and view the dental plan design in which they are enrolled.

The Dental Treatment Cost Estimator is an example of CIGNA's commitment to encourage consumer engagement by providing members with the cost and quality information they need to support health care decision making. CIGNA has a number of consumer decision support tools and services that provide cost and quality information to members across the country.

About CIGNA Dental

Based in Plantation, Florida, CIGNA Dental meets the dental coverage needs of more than 10.7 million members, and the employer needs of more than one- third of all Fortune 100 companies. CIGNA Dental members access care from one of the largest dental HMO and dental PPO networks in the U.S., with more than 74,500 DPPO dentists and 5,600 DHMO facilities (with 24,900 DHMO dentists). CIGNA was one of the first insurance companies to offer dental indemnity - introducing its first plan in 1964 and became the first national carrier to enter the Dental HMO market.

(1) The Harris Poll(R) #54, July 15, 2005

CIGNA Dental
http://www.cigna.com