Washington exchange may bite into dental market

The exchange staff reported at a recent Washington state exchange dental advisory committee meeting that the state has a huge unmet need for dental coverage. Only 14 percent of its residents lack any form of public or private medical coverage, but 37 percent have no form of dental insurance.

The state exchange enrollment system has been working well, but adding dental would require significant changes to the system, the staff said.

The staff has sketched out a timeline that calls for carriers to begin developing exchange dental plans in mid-2014, carriers to begin submitting exchange dental plan filings to state insurance regulators in February 2015, and open enrollment in adult and family exchange dental plans to start in October 2015.

The advisory panel is looking at questions such as whether the exchange could give users the ability to compare dental plans side by said, and whether the exchange should simply offer a standard family dental plan or also allow the sale of adult-only dental plans. 

See also:

• Voluntary products poised for takeoff in 2014
• Exchanges eye 2015 dental options
• California exchange sets dental menu