Coastal Communities Hospital Adds a Senior Center; Botox OK’d for New Use in Japan
For years, dental health coverage wasn’t the first thing people thought about when it came to employee benefits.
But figures from two large dental insurance providers with an Orange County presence suggest that more companies are seeing dental insurance as a viable option for workers.
PacifiCare Dental and Vision ended 2000 with approximately 926,000 dental health maintenance organization members, said Bruce Cacciapaglia, the plan’s vice president of marketing and product development. That total, including PPO members, grew to approximately 985,000 at the end of March, Cacciapaglia said.
Anaheim-based PacifiCare Dental and Vision is a subsidiary of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. of Santa Ana.
Much of the growth came from PacifiCare Dental’s offering of more dental preferred-provider organization products in conjunction with its dental health maintenance organizations, Cacciapaglia said. Also, PacifiCare Dental plans to start selling the preferred provider organizations on a stand-alone basis later this year.
Consumers often view PPOs in the dental and medical sense more favorably than HMOs because they allow a wider choice of practitioners. HMOs traditionally work under a tight “panel” system that is seen by some consumers as restrictive.
As for groups, PacifiCare is seeing growth in the mid-market segment, which Cacciapaglia defines as businesses with 51 to 250 employees.
“I just think that ultimately, we pride ourselves on the quality of our network and service,” Cacciapaglia said, noting that PacifiCare Dental eschews getting into price wars as a way to build membership.
Meanwhile, San Francisco-based Dentegra Group Inc., the holding company for Delta Dental operations in California and 15 other states, reported adding 1 million new enrollees in 2000. Including first-quarter figures for this year, Delta California and its affiliates provide dental health coverage for an estimated 14.5 million state residents.
Delta’s figures also showed there was growth in Orange County: the plan’s commercial enrollment grew 20% from 272,000 in Jan. 1 to 328,000 as of March 31. Those numbers don’t include Medicaid or Healthy Families dental coverage enrollment.
Delta spokesman Jeff Album, in an e-mail, said he believed much of the growth came from small businesses, those with 5 to 99 employees. The growth, according to Album, “was primarily in the computer services and technology industries where we saw many small companies finally add dental benefits in order to compete for employees in a tight labor market with larger companies.
“How the dot-com bomb era ends up affecting this segment of our business is still a question mark for next year, since we generally aren’t affected by new economic trends until a full year or two after a downturn,” Album said.
Delta also has added the Orange County Register, Santa Ana; WaterPik Technologies Inc., Newport Beach; Orange County’s deputy sheriffs; and Fullerton Foods Co., Fullerton, according to Album.
Coastal Communities Adds Senior Services
Coastal Communities Hospital, a Tenet Healthcare Corp. facility in Santa Ana, recently opened a senior assessment center. Hospital officials said it is a comprehensive outpatient evaluation and treatment program for senior citizens who are having difficulty managing day-to-day living at home.
The center is staffed with a team of senior-care specialists, including geriatric physicians, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, physical therapists, pharmacists and dietitians.
Treatments offered at the center encompass chronic conditions such as pressure sores, obesity, urinary incontinence, chronic illness and pain and physical weakness. Besides assessments, rehabilitation designed to prevent falls and improve balance is offered at the center.
There are also plans to offer care for seniors with behavioral problems such as Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.
Bits and Pieces:
Allergan Inc., Irvine, received approval to market Botox in Japan for treatment of cervical dystonia Beckman Coulter Inc., Fullerton, provided a grant to the Men’s Health Network to conduct free-PSA tests for prostate cancer TriZetto Group Inc., Newport Beach, entered a five-year agreement with the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association allowing the latter to offer information to its member plans on TriZetto’s HealthWeb Internet platform. TriZetto also signed an application service provider agreement with the Institute for Urban Family Health, a nonprofit medical provider serving communities in New York City covering 70 doctors at 13 office sites within those areas Cardiac Science Inc., Irvine, was granted another patent covering its Powerheart automatic external defibrillator technology Western Dental Services Inc., Orange, opened a general dentistry and orthodontic office in Antioch. Western Dental has more than 130 centers throughout California and Arizona.
