Argus Dental Plan and Florida Dental Association Services Partner to Launch New “Dental Saving Account” (DSA)

August 02, 2012

Argus Dental Plan (www.argusdental.com) announces the launch of the Dental Saving Account (DSA), a dollar-based plan design offering better freedom of choice for patients while helping dentists, employers, and patients manage health costs.

Argus Dental Plan (www.argusdental.com) announces the launch of the Dental Saving Account (DSA), a dollar-based plan design offering better freedom of choice for patients while helping dentists, employers, and patients manage health costs.

Since the 1960s, PPOs have been the plan of choice among employers of all sizes, ranking approximately 61 percent of all U.S. dental plans. During Florida Dental Association’s June 2012 session, the House of Delegates approved bringing DSAs to market, thus, adopting a new plan design to compete with PPOs and bringing an opportunity for lower fees in dentistry.

"When the basics of dental coverage have been stagnant for decades, with obvious disadvantages, it was past time to create consumer-driven options," said Dr. Nicholas Kavouklis, president of Argus Dental Plan, who coined the phrase "Dental Saving Account."

The DSA maximizes patient premium dollars by utilizing a Preferred Dentist Network. Benefits include maximum annual contributions, maximum fees for dental procedures, fund rollovers, and simple transparency. In contrast to procedure-driven and group funded plans, a DSA is a self-funded or fully-insured account, meaning employers can fund monthly contributions or premiums to pay plan costs.

The DSA is similar to "Direct Reimbursement" or "Direct Assignment" plans, which offer dental benefits on a cost basis versus the traditional dental plan based on cumbersome insurance codes. DSAs, however, are not to be confused with Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts on the medical side. In contrast, DSAs give consumers straightforward fee schedules on dental procedures and more leverage in spending insurance dollars.

Founded in 2007 by a Florida dentist, Argus Dental Plan provides dental benefits that offer value and quality to all members. Argus is licensed through the Florida Department of Insurance and is owned and operated by professionals with extensive experience with dental insurance and clinical dentistry. The Argus network of thousands of providers is conveniently located throughout Florida. Through collaboration between consumers, dentists and insurance agents, Argus has developed flexible benefit plans to meet the specific needs of individuals, families, large and small employer groups, governmental agencies, and associations of all sizes.

Argus Dental Plan