In a recent JADA article ("Dentistry 2000: Marketplace—Dental Insurance, Managed Care and Traditional Practice," December JADA), I noted that some evidence suggests a decline in the number of people covered by employer-based dental insurance.
This was based on a Bureau of Labor Statistics paper that reported a decline in the percentage of full-time employees in medium and large private companies with dental care benefits (77 percent in 1984 and 57 percent in 1995). In addition, the percentage of workers with employer-based medical insurance declined from 70.5 percent in 1977 to 64.1 percent in 1996, making it highly likely that a similar trend occurred in dental insurance.
However, a recent Rand Corp. study of 21,545 private employers reported that enrollment in employer-based insurance coverage stayed approximately constant from 1993 to 1997. Further, the percentage of employers offering dental insurance increased from 59 percent to 65 percent during this period. These data suggest that enrollment in employer-sponsored dental plans may now be stable or even increasing.
Whether this change in the long-term enrollment decline in employer-based dental insurance reflects the improved economy or other factors remains to be seen. It is important for JADA readers to be aware of these data.
