Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, I would like to thank you for inviting us to join you this morning to talk about our Partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs in the execution of the demonstration project on Healthcare Effectiveness through Resource Optimization (Project HERO).

Delta Dental is the nation’s oldest and largest provider of Dental Services.  Through our 39 independent member plans, we provide dental insurance coverage to over 54 million people in all 50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territories and other overseas locations.  Four out of every five dentists are affiliated with Delta Dental and our network of approximately 140 thousand highly qualified dentists is second to none.  Of those, approximately 19,000 are located in the four Project HERO Veteran Integrated Service Networks (VISNs).

Delta Dental first began a journey in the late 1970s with the then Veterans Administration when we administered the VA Outpatient Dental Care Program (Fee Basis) in California.  Over the years our involvement with the Department has ebbed and flowed.  What has not changed, however, is our total commitment to the tremendous men and women who serve our nation in uniform.  Today, it is both a privilege and an honor for us to administer this program in collaboration with the Veterans Health Administration and the four participating VISNs.

We fully understand and are committed to the goals of Project HERO as articulated in the underlying statute, the implementing contract and related documents.  At Delta, we see our role not as a substitute for VA Care but rather as an extension of that care when, for whatever reason, required care cannot be provided at the VA’s dental treatment facilities.

By making available our networks of Delta Dental providers, we complement VHA’s in-house capacity with high quality, credentialed providers with whom we have negotiated discounted rates.  Basically, we believe Project HERO will, in the long run, lay the foundation that will allow the VHA to provide necessary care to more veterans for less money than is currently paid for Fee Care. 

We work in close collaboration with our partners in the Dental Clinics, in the VISNs, and the VHA to improve the exchange of clinical information between our network community providers and the various elements of the VHA.  While fostering high quality care and patient safety, we improve veteran satisfaction and can provide avenues based on commercial business practices to control costs and eliminate waiting lists.  We see this in stark contrast to traditional “FEE CARE” in which the VA has no influence over the quality of care yet pays “Billed Charges” for all work done.

During the period from January 2008 through December 2009 we have received 20,898 viable authorizations which resulted in our making 20,753 appointments for care.  Of those, about 18,772 have been seen by a dentist and we have received a claim for the dental services rendered.  The remainder has received treatment for which we have not yet been billed or are awaiting their scheduled appointment. 

Once treatment has been authorized, our veterans are in the dentist chair on average in 18 days and, 99.82% are seen in less than 30 days for the calendar year 2009.  We see this as a clear indication that the program is meeting the established objectives.  We are proud of this track record and expect it to improve as we work through the remaining years of the demonstration.

We believe that a key to this success has been the partnership forged between Delta Dental and the VHA to ensure that this demonstration program provides a solid foundation for future decisions about veteran’s dental care.

During the 25 months since contract award, we have worked to better understand the culture, attitudes and expectations of our partners while exposing them to the benefits that private sector dental plans can provide.  There have been, and will be of course, bumps in the road.  Together we are working our way through them so we move towards the common goals of Project HERO.

As we look forward, together with our partners in VHA, we have identified specific areas for procedural improvements that will enhance the overall contribution of the dental portion of Project HERO to the care provided to our veterans.

These areas include:

Empowering the Chief, Business Office and Project HERO PMO, under the oversight of the VHA and VA’s Office of Dentistry, to manage the administration of the program and enhance the standardization of policies and procedures across VISNs and Medical Centers.  If Project HERO is to successfully harness the benefits of leveraging a nationwide private sector resource, the Project cannot be operated like 32 individual dental plans, each operating with its own rules and expectations.

Maximizing the referral of patients, who would otherwise be referred to Fee Care, to Project HERO network dentists.  Artificially limiting at a local level the selection of veterans referred to Project HERO dentists while continuing to rely on Fee Care for a preponderance of those veterans authorized to receive care outside the VA hospitals and clinics will skew the results of the pilot and magnify the impact of adverse selection on the overall results.

We at Delta, from the mailroom to the Executive Offices, appreciate all you have done and continue to do for the tremendous men and women who have served our Nation in uniform.  Thank you, again, for the opportunity to appear before you today.