Confirmed Session Topics Released! More Sessions to come.
Please note: additional sessions will be added below as they are confirmed.
see schedule here for times and dates
The Fate of Standalone Dental: Revisited
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 // 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM (CT)
presented by West Monroe Partners
Find out more about challenges and opportunities facing the dental benefits industry Sept. 22 at 10 AM Central when West Monroe presents The Fate of Standalone Dental: Revisited, the opening general session for Virtual CONVERGE 2020, offered live and via recording.
For background information, see West Monroe’s recently published report, Convergence of Dental and Health Insurance Accelerates, which provides industry insights regarding the future of standalone dental plans. The report contains key findings from West Monroe’s research such as:
- Updates from the 2018 research: What’s new, what’s changing, etc.
- Data and insights from health, dental, and ancillary plans
- COVID’s impact on convergence
- How all carriers can prepare and seize the opportunities from convergence
- Consumer demands and strategic market shifts
- Drivers and impediments to convergence
[read more]
Dental Trends in Medicare presented by Dominion National
This session will explore case studies from Dominion’s dental experience in Medicare Advantage programs in different states, including:
- How offering dental benefits with Medicare programs improves retention and reduces medical costs
- How dental and medical carriers approach Medicare dental plan designs
- The future regulatory landscape
Understanding the Impact Millennials Have on the Insurance Industry
presented by Solstice Benefits
The size and power of millennials cannot be overlooked as they allow the insurance industry to anticipate future shifts based on their preferences.
New Decade, New Challenges, New Solutions: Highlighting Key Dental Data Trends and Market Projections
presented by P&R Dental Strategies
For the second year in a row, Managed Healthcare Executive magazine included “using big data effectively” as one of the top challenge’s healthcare executives will face this year. Big data is only getting bigger as we head into the next decade and dental is poised to experience a sea change as a result. In this presentation, P&R Dental Strategies’ dental and analytics experts will share key historical trends, market metrics and projections to provide an understanding of all the places Big Data can inform business strategy for dental payer organizations. From shifts in utilization and group practice market dynamics to rolling out value-based payment models, Big Data plays a role and P&R will discuss how.
The Three R's of Optimizing Your Network
presented by Zelis
We all have the goal of delivering the most optimal network to our members to meet their needs and our business needs. But with so much disparate provider data from multiple sources needed to paint a clear picture, pulling it all together to make data-driven decisions to optimize your network can be a challenge.
Join Zelis to discuss the three R's of optimizing your network:
- Remove providers who are low quality, high cost or simply do not exist by integrating complex provider elements into your analysis
- Replace these providers by identifying network access gaps and bench marking the maximum accessibility possible in a market using state and federal standards.
- Recruit high quality, low cost providers to maintain your competitive advantage and understand your competitive position in the marketplace
There are many factors to optimizing your network. The three R's of network optimization will help you prioritize each step of the process.
Confronting the Opioid Epidemic with New Oral Health Programs
presented by United Healthcare
Opioid prescriptions commonly have been associated with wisdom tooth extraction, as this is intensive oral surgery performed on more than 5 million people annually, primarily young people. In fact, oral health professionals write 12% of all opioid prescriptions, including more than 54% of opioid prescriptions for adolescents – an age group especially vulnerable to misuse, addiction and overdose. This presentation will address a comprehensive and strategic approach to oral health to confront the opioid crisis from all angles, to prevent misuse of drugs and addiction, deliver tailored treatment to those who are addicted, and support long-term recovery.
Successful interventions include pharmacy policy changes, outreach to dental health professionals and consumers, and broad public education efforts. To that end, a new public toolkit provides information for oral health professionals and consumers, including an educational flyer with commonly asked questions related to opioids and a checklist to help people better understand pain-management options before and after wisdom-teeth removal.
Together, these efforts to date have resulted in an 89% reduction in opioid prescriptions above federal guidelines written by network dental health professionals for UnitedHealthcare dental members age 19 and younger. The speaker will provide details on the steps industry stakeholders, including health plans, care providers and governments, should take to help support the health of young people and address the connection between dental care and opioids.
Increasing Member Retention and Improving Member Experiences with Incentive Benefits
presented by SKYGEN USA
Attracting new members year-after-year is expensive. When members move to a new plan every year or skip enrollment for a year this is costly for members and can jeopardize their oral health. Incentive benefits allow dental insurers to reward members for long-term membership and regular preventive care. These plan designs can drive increased member loyalty and motivate members to maintain good oral health. Automating these incentive benefit designs, including decreasing annual deductibles, increasing benefit maximums, and decreasing coinsurance, helps ensure the program meets member and employer expectations.
In this session you will learn:
- How incentive benefit plan designs benefit the member and drive better oral health
- Best practices from insurers who offer this benefit option
- Best practices for administration and automation of incentive benefits
A Claims-Based Study of Utilization of Dental Services among Adults 65 and Older
presented by FAIRHealth
Adults age 65 and older may have greater dental needs and could spend more on dental care than other age groups, yet 70% lack dental coverage, and many lose their dental insurance after retirement. Furthermore, Medicare does not cover or reimburse many routine dental services. High out-of-pocket costs and a lack of price transparency impede timely dental care for seniors. In 2018, more than half of adults age 65 and over in the United States reported that they had not visited the dentist in the past year, owing primarily to financial barriers. Without routine preventive dental services (e.g., dental cleanings), older adults can experience poor oral health and, concomitantly, poor general health. Untreated dental issues likewise can lead to increased usage of emergency departments (EDs); over 2 million individuals visit the ED for dental pain each year.
Drawing on the nation’s largest repository of private healthcare claims data, this session will present a claims-based analysis of utilization of dental services among adults 65 and older. The analysis will:
- examine trends in the utilization of preventive dental services and treatments among adults and compare them to those age 65 and older,
- identify trends in ED visits pertaining to dental diagnoses among this population compared to other age cohorts and
- explore trends in the dental claims data for older adults by gender.
In particular, the session will illuminate the decline in preventive services during the COVID-19 pandemic in adults age 65 and older, and compare it to the decline in younger age cohorts. Individuals at risk of severe cases of COVID-19 were targeted for emergency dental care.
Artificial Intelligence Transforming Dental Claim Processing
presented by OverJet
Artificial Intelligence is transforming our lives. In this presentation we review the trends in AI and its application to healthcare and dentistry. We shall review how AI is applied to dental benefit administration in increasing efficiency and improving quality of dental care.
The need to modernize Network and Provider Management Capabilities in a Post Pandemic World
Panel presentation organized by Santech Solutions
Context COVID-19’s impact on our country’s medical infrastructure is without precedent. In no small part, the impact can be attributed to unheeded calls to adequately plan and prepare for a pandemic. And while providers on the front lines risk their lives to save lives, another battle may be underway to ensure enough qualified providers are deployed when and where they are needed. Therefore, a discussion topicworth consideration is what challenges is this pandemic surfacing or magnifying for payer and provider organizations as related to provider and network management (onboarding, credentialing, payer enrollment, network management, provider directory management etc.). The objective is to identify and raise awareness as to what are the challenges that payor and provider organizations may now need to address within provider enrollment and provider enrollment operations that were introduced or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This session will share challenges, lessons learned and the implications of COVID 19 from different perspectives on key provider related operations. This session will also explore short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on regulatory compliance and the need to modernize out-of-date processes and solutions as well as opportunities to increase collaboration between providers, payors and solution providers.
Dental Consultants: Love Them, Hate Them, How To Work With Them
In light of the growth of dental consultants, panel discussion will include two carriers, specifically selected for taking different approaches to working with consultants -- and two dental consultants, who will share why consultants exist and how to work with them effectively. The session will cover the following topics:
- Historical background on growth of dental consultants (and reasons behind the growth)
- Various approaches that carriers are taking toward dental consultants
- How carriers can work with dental consultants to execute their goals
Panelists:
- Chad Hendricks, Clear Choice Consulting
- Chuck Stewart, DDS Consulting
- Carrier representatives TBA
A Medicare Dental Benefit: No Longer a Just a Pipe Dream
The COVID-19 emergency and recession is forcing Americans to again focus on healthcare reform, and the odds of a major healthcare reform push in 2021 are growing. Speaker Pelosi advocates adding dental and vision benefits to Medicare, and four recent bills include a Medicare dental benefit. For the first time, a Medicare dental benefit is not a pipedream. But will this benefit leverage leading private sector practices to deliver the best and most cost effective dental coverage for seniors?
Presented by Mike Adelberg, a former senior federal official who helped implement the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Part D, will discuss the potential for a Medicare dental benefit, the structure of the dental benefit in current Congressional bills, and how it might be structured to leverage best practices from the private sector. Adelberg will also consider the potential impact of a Medicare dental benefit on dental plans that participate in Medicare Advantage and offer stand-alone dental plans to the senior market.
Creative focus on early childhood caries and the role dental plans may play in early intervention
This session will explore using educational and entertaining content to drive more patients into the office in the target age group which includes children under the age of 3. Yonder explains that by introducing the practice to families at home via a virtual pre-visit app experience, dental offices can engage with families at earlier ages. As a result, more cleanings at earlier ages to decrease caries at future visits. Find out more at www.letsyonder.com.
Presenter: Adam Choe, co-founder, Yonder
Adam Choe is the co-founder of Yonder. Previous to his work at Yonder, he was the Managing Director at gener8tor, a top 15 startup accelerator. Former professional experiences include St. Jude Medical, Nestle Healthcare, and two research fellowships at the University of Minnesota. Adam launched the first healthcare accelerator in Minnesota. He has worked with 40+ portfolio companies during his time at gener8tor, and those companies have gone on to raise $20M+ in dilutive and non-dilutive funds.