Research Report - Feb. 2022 - National Association of Dental Plans

News

Following are updates on current NADP surveys and the 2022 Research Agenda.

Current Surveys

Enrollment Survey: NADP distributed the Enrollment Survey to research contacts last week. The NADP Enrollment Report is the cornerstone of NADP’s Statistical Reports on the dental benefits industry. This survey captures enrollment data for Stand-Alone and Embedded DHMO, DEPO, DPPO, Dental Indemnity, Discount Dental, Direct Reimbursement, Medicaid, Medicare and other publicly-funded benefits at the national and state level.

The survey is due at the end of April. Assuming timely responses from members we anticipate publication of the report by the end of June.

Dental Loss Ratio Survey for Massachusetts: To support NADP’s efforts to support the industry in Massachusetts, a survey was distributed to plans to help NADP assess the impact of the ballot initiative in that state to implement a minimum Dental Loss Ratio. Similar research efforts have been conducted in Maine and California where the results have been instrumental in supporting our efforts to defend the industry against DLR mandates. The survey is available to carriers offering fully insured dental plans in Massachusetts. To participate in this research, respond to the survey as soon as possible. Download Survey Form.

Upcoming Publications:

2021 Benefit Utilization: The Research Commission anticipates publishing the 2021 Benefit Utilization Report in the first part of March. As with every effort to publish aggregated industry data, more is better. If your company has not responded to the survey, you can respond by March 4 to be included in the final report.

Research Agenda for 2022

Every year at the NADP Leadership Conference, the Research Commission identifies Industry Research to be conducted during the next year.

Industry Research requires the active participation of NADP members and other partners to be successful.

For each Industry Survey, the Commission considered several factors in deciding which surveys to conduct and when. Prior to the Leadership Conference:

NADP staff members were asked to provide feedback from the NADP perspective and that of the volunteer groups they staff.
Retained lobbyists and other consultants to NADP were asked to provide feedback about the industry data important in their work on behalf of NADP and the dental benefits industry.
Research Commission members were asked to seek feedback from colleagues at their organization to identify the most valuable industry data used by their organization.
Past participation levels in various surveys were reviewed.

Based on this feedback, the Research Commission proposes the following schedule of Industry Surveys and Reports for this year.

2022 NADP Industry Research Schedule
Study	Proposed Due Date	Anticipated Publication Date
Premiums The Premium Survey collects information about average premium by product type (DHMO, DPPO, and Dental Indemnity), group size and at the national and state level.	03/31/2022	04/30/2022
Benefit Utilization Q1 This survey requests non-DHMO dental insurance completed, paid dental procedures per 1,000 enrollees by month, by state and by benefit sponsor (group, individual, and Medicare Advantage)	4/30/2022	05/31/2022
Enrollment The NADP Enrollment Report is the cornerstone of NADP’s Statistical Reports on the dental benefits industry. This survey captures enrollment data for Stand-Alone and Embedded DHMO, DEPO, DPPO, Dental Indemnity, Discount Dental, Direct Reimbursement, Medicaid, Medicare and other publicly-funded benefits at the national and state level.	4/30/2022	06/30/2022
Claims Metrics This survey collects information claims processing metrics, delivery of Explanation of Benefits, Auto-Adjudication of Claims, Real Time Adjudication, application of Artificial Intelligence, use and development of Diagnostic Codes and Risk-Based Benefits, non-claim use of Electronic Data Interchange protocols, Provider Payment capabilities, CAQH CORE Operating Rules, Dental Quality Measures, Web Portals, and claims processing related Performance Guarantees.	5/31/2022	07/15/2022
Plan Design This survey collects information about Annual and Lifetime Maximum levels, deductible levels, and information about the percentage of enrollment with products with special features.	6/30/2022	08/15/2022
Benefit Utilization Q2	7/31/2022	08/31/2022
Benefit Utilization Q3	10/31/2022	11/30/2022
Benefit Utilization Q4	1/31/2023	02/28/2023

As these surveys become available, they will be posted on the NADP Surveys page on the NADP website.

This proposed schedule relies on NADP members participating in each of these surveys. The Research Commission will be reaching out to the delegates of NADP dental plan members for commitments to participate in each of the surveys. Our purpose is to identify surveys where participation will be sufficient for publication and for those where participation levels are insufficient for publication. Your participation in this process will be instrumental in helping NADP prepare for future information needs.

For more information, contact Director of Research and Information Jerry Berggren.