United Auto Workers Retirees Lose Benefits
By Darrell K. Pruitt; DDS
It’s no longer just the recent rash of bad PR on the Internet that has some Delta Dental employees worried about losing their jobs. Okemos, Michigan, home to Delta Dental of Michigan is downstream from GM. If Delta employees are laid off because of decreased sales of benefits packages, Okemos will lose even more of its disappearing tax base. And, this week we learn that United Auto Workers [UAW] retirees will lose their Delta dental benefits in GM’s bankruptcy.
The Michigan Messenger
I discovered a short article today on the Michigan Messenger Website, written by Ed Brayton, titled “GM’s UAW retirees to lose Delta Dental coverage.” Brayton closes with a sad lament: “It was only last November that Tim Daman, a Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce vice president, declared that with the office expansion, 2008 was ‘really Delta’s year.’ It appears that 2009 will not be.” Less than a year before Daman’s optimistic comment, Delta Dental announced that it was expanding its existing office space by 25,000 square-feet including 20,000 for a new data center. It’s unfortunate that the squandered money wasn’t spent on GM retirees’ teeth before they lost their dental insurance. Is it any wonder that Americans pay so much for so little healthcare?
Eyeing the Situation
And, what was Delta planning to do with that much data space anyway? Are Delta’s computers that huge, or was someone anticipating that future claims processing will require lots of soon to be unemployed Okemos citizens? I think if Colombo, a detective played by Peter Falk in a TV show long ago, were to cast his good eye on this situation with Delta Dental, he would see something odd about risking so much healthcare money on “data” rather than rewarding bonuses to executives who managed to save those huge amounts of money on payments to dentists. He’d scratch his head with the same hand holding a cigar, and say something like, “If Delta was willing to invest that much into say, a data mining project; they must have been planning on saving even more money on dental care for GM retirees somehow. Where was that money going to come from?
Public Relations Perspective
Ari Adler, the same Delta PR employee who a few months ago publicly announced that Delta Dental guarantees its dentistry, offered prepared statements about the bad news for Delta, but would not comment on how this enormous loss in business might ultimately change the company’s plans. He was only allowed to offer that the company is “studying the impact of this situation on the organization.” He assured Brayton that the building is going up as planned. I hope Delta doesn’t back out of its guarantees on fillings. That would be especially cruel to GM retirees.
More: GM’s UAW Retirees to Lose Delta Dental Coverage
Dental provider plans to offer special options for retirees, whose coverage could end as early as next month
By Ed Brayton 6/8/09 12:11 PM
http://michiganmessenger.com/20507/gms-uaw-retirees-to-lose-delta-dental-coverage
Assessment
It’s a real puzzler, Columbo. But, I’d bet you could figure it out by the end of the show. Peter Falk and family, I wish you the best.
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Filed under: Alerts Sign-Up, Breaking News, Career Development, Events-Planner, Health Insurance, Interviews, Managed Care, Marketing & Advertising, Media Mentions and PR, Practice Management, Research & Development, Sponsors | Tagged: Ari Adler, book tour, Darrell Pruitt, david marcinko, Delta Dental Michigan, dental insurance, Ed Brayton, General Motors, GM, GM bankruptcy, healthcare benefits, Lansing, Michigan Messenger, Okemos, Tim Daman, UAW, United Auto Workers
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Delta CEO Kim E. Volk Cannot Hide
It’s been a few days since I posted anything intricate on the Internet, other than my drawings. And I have to confess to those who have been patiently waiting that I’m having a blast playing “Who’s this?” on Facebook with my hometown friends. Many say that they are enjoying the contests as well. The object of the game is to be the first to identify the subjects of portraits of famous people in Panhandle as they are revealed in three stages. I rarely get to the final portrait before someone wins the original drawing itself.
“Who’s this?” does exactly what I told the TDA it would do. It brings real people with common interests together. Amazingly, it’s also the game that got me kicked off the TDA Facebook without warning. Incredible, TDA. (See “Let’s talk, TDA”).
http://community.pennwelldentalgroup.com/forum/topics/lets-talk-tda
One of the past presidents of the TDA once said that it is important to face new challenges in dentistry in new ways and that the TDA welcomes input from membership. That sounds a lot different than what it really means.
In addition to the new drawing hobby that is taking up more of my time, when I’ve felt the urge to rant, I’ve chosen to use Twitter in 140 or fewer characters. I don’t know how easy my train of thoughts reads, but it scratches where I itch.
I’ve also discovered and joined three more Facebook groups. So far, I haven’t been denied access to anything other than the TDA’s, but it’s only been a couple of days. In the words of Ricky Bobby, “Let’s see if we can get kicked out of Applebee’s.”
On “Ornery Friday” as I called the day on Twitter, Advance Oral Health Facebook, a club of benefits providers that is dominated by Delta Dental Plans Association, caught my attention. I’ve taken control of their account and immediately caused two Delta executives to flee. Get this: I even asked Delta CEO Kim E. Volk to be my friend. So far, she’s ignored my request. Can you blame her?
I copied below what I posted in the “friends” section of the AOH Facebook, which only “friends” read. Is this ornery or what? The site has been opened at least 6 months and I’m the first person to post anything in the “friends” section. It reminds me a lot of BCBSTX’s Facebook as well as the TDA’s.
That’s not all. In the “Discussion Board” section, someone from AOH wrote: “With health care reform on everyone’s mind, we think it’s important to remember the mouth. What do you think? How important are dental benefits to you?” – July 9, 2009
This weekend, I posted the first response: “The question ‘How important are dental benefits to you?’ was posted three months ago, and nobody responded.” Of course, nobody has responded.
Posted on Advance Oral Health Facebook, 10/10/09
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Advance-Oral-Health/116240205341?v=wall
As a practicing dentist, it is important for my patients that I keep abreast of market trends in the profession – which certainly includes changes in insurance policies. I’m so glad to have found “Advance Oral Health” on Facebook where I see Delta Dental is well represented – including CEO Kim E. Volk, spokespeople Janis Oshensky and Ari Adler, and Dr. Maxwell H. Anderson whom I met a little over a year ago in ADA Headquarters when we both attended a benefits conference. Greetings.
On Jan 30, Rabia Mughal, associate editor of DrBicuspid.com, posted “Dentists or patients: Who should get the insurance check?”
http://www.drbicuspid.com/index.aspx?d=1&sec=sup&sub=pmt&pag=dis&ItemID=301436&wf=34
Mughal reports that Ari Adler said “Direct reimbursement to out-of-network dentists is a problem because it allows them to enjoy the benefits provided by the network without following cost guidelines and quality control measures of the network.” As anyone can understand, dentists need to be told these things before they sign contracts with Delta. So far, I have been unable to obtain more information on Delta’s quality control measures.
Later, Adler adds, “We put our dentists thorough a credentialing process and provide quality assurance. That means if a dentist does a filling that should last a certain amount of time and it doesn’t, they have to fix it without charging the network or the patients.” Again, it is only reasonable for dentists to be told how Delta’s guarantee affects their practices before signing contracts. So I ask any Delta Dental rep who would like to step forward, what did Ari B. Adler mean?
D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS