Delta Dental of California kept its top spot among dental insurance plans operating in Orange County, according to this year’s Business Journal list.
The 13 dental health maintenance organization and preferred provider organization plans on the list grew their membership 5% over the past 12 months to 1.86 million people.
The Business Journal made estimates for four dental insurers.
As with last year, Delta, which is based in San Francisco and part of the nationwide Delta Dental Insurance Co., posted the biggest gain by percentage and number of enrollees. Its total OC enrollment rose 20% to 575,531 members.
“We did see healthy growth for the past 12 months,” said Elizabeth Risberg, a Delta Dental spokeswoman.
Delta made gains in signing up school districts and unions, Risberg said. She declined to identify the clients.
Delta also is selling more dental HMO plans because employers and workers are becoming cost-conscious, she said.
“They have a cost per month and copayments,” she said. “They can save money on both ends.”
Delta was featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article on how dental plans are increasing their benefits in tough eco-nomic times.
Delta recently introduced a plan that doesn’t count diagnostic and preventive care toward the annual maximum benefits.
With a plan like that, patients are able to conserve more of their yearly benefits allowances, which generally are capped at $1,500 to $2,500, for pricier procedures like bridges and crowns, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Last year, Delta surged past SafeGuard Dental Health Plans as the county’s market leader. The Business Journal estimates that SafeGuard,part of SafeGuard Health Enterprises Inc., which was acquired by New York-based MetLife Inc. earlier this year,has 460,000 local enrollees. SafeGuard reported figures last year and said it had 460,812 local members then.
SafeGuard posted a large enrollment gain about three years ago when it bought the dental and vision HMO membership from GE Wellness Dental and Vision.
Aetna Dental, part of Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc., came in at No. 3 on this year’s list. Its OC membership was essentially flat at 150,671 enrollees from 149,690 the previous year.
Cigna Dental, part of Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp., followed at No. 4. Its local enrollment fell 4.5% to 136,900 members.
The Business Journal estimates that UnitedHealthcare Dental/PacifiCare Dental, this year’s No. 5 plan and part of Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group Inc., had 135,000 local members.
No. 6 Anthem Blue Cross reported having 100,500 OC members, also flat over last year’s enrollment number.
No. 7 Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America saw its membership grow 1% to 97,500 OC enrollees. Last year, Guardian came in at No. 3 with 193,473 members, but changed how it reports its enrollees this year.
Guardian also has made some benefit changes, including allowing members who don’t hit the maximum limits to roll over some unused payments if certain requirements are met.
In addition, Guardian also is covering up to four maintenance cleanings at the recommendation of a dentist without additional verification, Richard Goren, the company’s second vice president, told the Wall Street Journal.
No. 8 Western Dental Services, which is based in Orange, had an estimated 74,000 enrollees.
No. 9 United Concordia Cos. said its OC enrollment was flat at 53,000 members.
Golden West Dental and Vision, a unit of WellPoint Inc., posted a 4% decline to 37,012 local members and came in at No. 10.
Ameritas Group Dental, part of Lincoln, Neb.-based Ameritas Acacia Mutual Holding Co., saw its enrollment decline 9% to 25,883 members, landing it at the No. 11 spot.
No. 12 Newport Dental, part of Santa Ana-based Bright Now Dental Inc., has an estimated 11,000 local members.
Bright Now is the 26th largest private company in OC, according to the Business Journal’s May list of private companies. It posted $427 million in revenue in 2007, a 9% increase from a year earlier. The company has expanded rapidly since 2003, when it posted about $70 million in revenue. It began growing by purchasing companies and opening offices.
The list is rounded out by No. 13 Dental Health Services, whose local office is nearby in Long Beach, where the company also is based. Dental Health’s OC membership fell 42% to 2,031 members, the largest percentage decrease on the list.
