Delta Dental of Missouri (DDMO) pivoted and quickly adapted to a very different environment with uninterrupted service to our dentists, clients and members. Many of our constituents have been significantly impacted by this crisis, and we have and will continue to respond in a variety of ways. Each Delta Dental member company operates independently, and we developed a response which aligns with our organization and complies with the regulatory and legal parameters under which we operate.
For our participating network dentists in Missouri and South Carolina, we implemented two relief programs:
In March, we launched a low-interest loan program where dentists can qualify for loans of up to $15,000. We earmarked up to $5 million to fund these loans. Loan applications are due by December 31, 2020. For full details about our Dentist Loan Program and to access our loan application, please visit: www.DeltaDentalMO.com/Providers.
On June 1, we announced our Reopening Relief Program for our network dentists in Missouri and South Carolina. To help our network dental practices with the costs of reopening, such as purchasing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), DDMO provided a one-time payment based on the practice’s claims volume with DDMO. We committed $3 million in Reopening Relief, to be distributed among network practices in Missouri and South Carolina. Practices do not need to apply for funding and do not need to repay it.
We implemented these network dentist relief programs instead of a per-patient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) reimbursement model. As a reminder, DDMO participating network dentists cannot charge patients a PPE fee. Infection control and OSHA requirements are not billable to patients in accordance with their Participating Provider Agreement with DDMO. Therefore, we provided a one-time reopening relief payment to our network providers instead of implementing a per-patient fee. We understand this may not be a long-term solution, and we will continue to evaluate the issue going forward with the rest of the industry.
On July 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that dentists were eligible to apply for relief funding. According to HHS, a dental provider can use the funding to cover any number of practice-related costs including, but not limited to, office lease or rent payments, staff salaries, personal protective equipment and structural office enhancements. The deadline for dentist funding applications is August 28, 2020. At HHS’ request, Delta Dental Plans Association (DDPA) provided the agency with a significant, national data set including submitted claims received by Delta Dental companies from across the country for parallel weeks: March – April 2019; March – April 2020. Delta Dental was able to share critical data that demonstrated the significant financial harm dentists and dental practices are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We cannot predict what will occur, but we will continue to evaluate options as we navigate this situation together. Questions about our relief programs can be directed to: ProfessionalRelationsTeam@deltadentalmo.com.
Delta Dental of Missouri does business in South Carolina as Delta Dental of South Carolina.
