The Highlands County Health Department began offering free dental care to uninsured pregnant women last Wednesday and its offices are already booked for the next two weeks.

“We’ve had a tremendous response from women learning about it through their OBGYN’s,” said Dr. Gerald Pyser, dental executive director for Highlands County Health Department.

Uninsured pregnant women and those receiving Medicaid are now eligible for free dental care at the health department’s dental office in Sebring.

The dental program, New Maty’s Dental Program, is the first to be offered to pregnant women in the county. According to Florida Department of Health’s 2008 statistics the program hopes to reach Highlands County’s 150 pregnant teens and 565 single mothers.

“The county has a high teen pregnancy rate and that’s really what’s driving the wheel,” Pyser said.

The program will offer free preventive and restorative care for pregnant women through out their pregnancy.

The health department’s program also seeks to educate expecting mothers on preventive dental care for their infants.

Pyser said pre-dental care leads to healthier mothers and infants.

“Treatment and prevention of dental and gum disease in pregnancy has a very positive effect on preventing preterm labor and low birth weight infants,” he said.

The department hired Dr. Joel Shapses, a dentist from Collier County, to treat patients for this program once a week on Wednesday by appointment.

Pyser said the program is permanent and based on the needs of the county.

“We hope to expand the program,” he said.

For more information on New Maty’s Dental Program, call 382-7257.

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDMS), operators of PERFECT TEETH dental practices announced its regular quarterly dividend. The Company’s board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 17 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable October 9, 2009, to shareholders of record September 25, 2009.

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc. acquires, develops, and manages geographically dense dental practice networks in select markets in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The Company currently manages 61 dental offices, of which 35 were acquired and 26 were de novo developments. The Company operates its dental offices under the PERFECT TEETH name.

Keywords: Birner Dental Management Services, Inc., Birner Dental Management Services, Inc., Common Stock, Finance, Investing, Investment, Stock Market, Birner Dental Management Services Inc., Common Stock, Finance, Investing, Investment, Stock Market

This article was prepared by Investment Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Investment Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.

The community solution forged to help adults without insurance or funds receive emergency dental care is yet another action that sets Haywood apart from other places.

Adult dental care has been a thorny issue for quite some time, accounting for a large number of the cases seen at the Haywood Regional Medical Center emergency department. Few dentists in the county are accepting anymore Medicaid patients, and the health department dental clinic focuses on children.

That leaves few options for adults with dental emergencies who aren’t able to pay for the treatment.

However, a partnership between Haywood Vocational Opportunities, Haywood Christian Ministry, the health department dental clinic and Dr. Eric Morrison, who often provides emergency medical care for those in need, has devised a solution.

There are 11 dentists in the county, including the dentist with the county health department, who will be participating in the program. A $9,000 grant and donations of $21,000 will help defray the costs. Haywood Christian Ministry will be accepting donations toward the program, which allows the contributions to be tax-deductible, and the agency will be the gatekeeper for helping adults find the dental care they need.

The solution is a caring one that fills a desperate need at the lowest cost possible. The program says a lot about the type of community and professionals here in Haywood who are making this possible.

Often ranting and raving about problems beyond our county borders makes us feel helpless and provides little hope of making a difference. But when we focus inward and look at our neighbors and fellow county residents who are doing without, it is fairly simple to make a difference. If all communities were able to take care of their own as Haywood has increasingly been able to do, it could change the dynamics of how we follow the biblical command, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”

Some Dale County officials are hoping a medical contracting service will help curb medical expenses of inmates in the Dale County Jail.

While Dale County commissioners had yet to vote to contract out the jail’s medical services from the $70,000 budget line the upcoming fiscal year, some commissioners said they would at least consider the change for next fiscal year in order to keep down expenses.

Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said an estimated $76,000 had been spent on the medical care of inmates this year.

“That money does not even include the salary or the overtime of the deputies who transport the inmates back and forth or who sit at the hospitals and the doctors’ offices with the inmates,” Olson said.

“A contract service would keep some of those expenses at bay and would free up the deputies from having to make those runs as much.”

Olson said he already presented one proposal to the commission that is an estimated $80,000 and will include an on-staff doctor, nurse, dental plan and a portable x-ray machine.

Dale County Commissioner Gerald Harden said longterm savings would be what determined whether to have contract service.

“You have to think about every angle. Right now we haven’t gotten that far,” he said.

Credit: Dothan Eagle, Ala.

A little toothache can pretty quickly turn into a big headache -not just for your mouth but for your wallet too. That’s why CIGNA’s new series of dental HMO plans places an even greater emphasis on affordability and promoting wellness by covering more preventive dental care services (see also CIGNA).

For example, under the new plans, up to four routine cleanings a year – two at no cost and two for a minimal copay — are covered when recommended by the dentist. Children are covered for two fluoride treatments a year to help prevent tooth decay, one of the most common chronic infectious diseases among U.S. children1.

“If you have dental insurance, you might pay nothing or very little out of your pocket for a routine dental visit (cleaning, x-rays and exam), compared with an average of $150 or more if you don’t have coverage,” said Dr. Miles Hall, chief dental clinical director for CIGNA*. “If you need to have a cavity filled, on average the cost would be $115 or more without insurance compared to low or no cost with our dental HMO plan. Waiting too long to treat a small cavity could mean you’d pay many times more for more costly dental procedures, such as a root canal, and spend more time away from work and personal life to recover. The key message we’re sending with the new plan designs is ‘prevention matters, so don’t wait.’”

Hall said CIGNA is also changing some aspects of plan rules to make it easier for people to schedule their preventive dental care. Under the new plans, which are available now, the company is doing away with the requirement that cleanings be done at least six months apart.

In addition, the new plans cover teeth whitening – the kind of gel bleaching with take-home trays that many dentists offer. The plans continue to include important preventive features such as no age limitation on sealants, no referrals needed for orthodontic care, no referrals needed for care by a network pediatric dentist for children under 7, and coverage for procedures to help detect oral cancer early.

According to Bebe Shuler-Mure, assistant vice president of product for CIGNA’s dental products, CIGNA has been working to broaden the network of dentists who participate in the dental HMO plan and now has over 13,600 unique dentists who practice among over 43,500 office locations in the network, one of the largest dental HMO networks in the country. Individuals can locate an in-network dentist using the dental directory on www.cigna.com.

At a time when the affordability of coverage is a concern for both employees and employers, the new plans are offered with a range of benefit and copay options.

“CIGNA’s new dental HMO plans have more options available than many other carriers, including standard plans, plans with and without orthodontia coverage, specialty dental care discount, and split copay plans where copays are lower for using a general dentist and higher for dental specialty care,” said Shuler-Mure. “This array of options gives employers flexibility to continue to provide a dental plan, even if their benefits budgets are under strain due to the economic downturn. The plans are also available on what is known as a voluntary (employee-paid) basis, where employees can get the advantage of obtaining insurance at lower, group rates.”

CIGNA is also using its diverse product capabilities to provide value-added services for people in its dental plans coupon. CIGNA will offer identity theft resolution services free of charge for individuals covered under the new series of dental HMO plans. Someone who falls victim to identify theft can be guided through the steps to recovery by an identify theft expert, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at no charge.

A Big Dir

To say Americans are feeling lousy about their retirement prospects is a huge understatement. They’re feeling downright hopeless. Only 13 percent of adults over 25 are certain they’ll be able to live comfortably in their later years, according to a recent survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. That’s the lowest level of confidence reported since the annual survey began in 1993. And who can blame these dejected retirement savers? The majority of would-be retirees have watched their nest eggs crumble in the market’s undoing, and few have the cushion of a traditional pension.

But this widespread pessimism could have a slight upside, says Jack VanDerhei, research director for EBRI. “There was so much unwarranted optimism going into this that people have a much more realistic outlook now,” he says. “You may never have been on target even before you had the kind of losses many people incurred last year in the stock market.” The bottom line: If stocks return to their prerecession highs in the near future, traditional retirement will still be tough. That’s because would-be retirees are also facing the threat of rising inflation, ballooning dentalplanscoupon.com/medical-plans/integrating-leadership-development-and-continuous-improvement-practices-in-healthcare-organizations.html” title=”health”>healthcare costs, the possibility of outliving their money, and the prospect of another big market drop. Here are some ways to prepare for these challenges:

Inflation. Some experts say inflation could diminish your purchasing power even more in the future than it does today, largely because of America’s ever increasing national debt. One way to guard your portfolio against inflation is by mixing in more asset classes–especially those that don’t move in step with the overall market. “Stocks, commodities, and real estate exposure all hedge against inflation really well,” says Frank Armstrong, founder of Investor Solutions and coauthor of Save Your Retirement: What to Do If You Haven’t Saved Enough or If Your Investments Were Devastated by the Market Meltdown . Financial planners vary widely in their opinions about the most sensible allocation to stocks in a retiree’s portfolio. “If you are in your mid-to-late 60s and in reasonably good dentalplanscoupon.com/medical-plans/integrating-leadership-development-and-continuous-improvement-practices-in-healthcare-organizations.html” title=”health”>health and have every prospect of living into your 90s, you might want to keep anywhere from 35 to 50 percent in equities,” says Jerry Miccolis, a certified financial planner for Brinton Eaton Wealth Advisors and coauthor of Asset Allocation for Dummies. “But if you’re in your mid-70s and in failing dentalplanscoupon.com/medical-plans/integrating-leadership-development-and-continuous-improvement-practices-in-healthcare-organizations.html” title=”health”>health and this portfolio is really all you’ve got–and your investment horizon isn’t that long–you ought to have a third or less in equities.”

But some planners think stocks–even when used as an inflation-fighter–are just too risky. Instead, they point to treasury inflation-protected securities, which are government bonds that guarantee a rate of return above inflation. The downside is that investors trade the prospect of high returns for that safety. “I think it makes sense to hold a substantial portion of your portfolio in TIPS,” says Olivia Mitchell, director of the Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “You might not make a lot of money, but you won’t lose any money.”

Outliving your money. Once Americans make it to age 65, men can expect to live an additional 17 years and women can expect to live 20 more years. Advances in dentalplanscoupon.com/medical-plans/integrating-leadership-development-and-continuous-improvement-practices-in-healthcare-organizations.html” title=”health”>healthcare could stretch that timeline. Traditional pension plans, Social Security, and annuities all offer protection against the threat of outliving your assets because the payouts last as long as you live. Social Security recipients even have annual cost-of-living increases, which are tied to the consumer price index. Social Security payouts also rise by approximately 7 to 8 percent for each year you delay claiming between ages 62 and 70. That’s enough of an incentive for Bill Russell, 62, to delay claiming until he’s 66–his full retirement age–to get a higher benefit amount for himself and his wife. “If I should die between now and when I start drawing, I want to maximize my wife’s Social Security benefit,” says Russell, who lives in Branson, Mo. Spouses are eligible for 50 percent of the higher earner’s due if that’s more than the amount that can be claimed based on their working record. If either spouse claims Social Security before full retirement age, the checks are smaller.

Working longer is the quickest way to pad a retirement account and decrease the number of years over which your savings must be spread. “Retiring early is just not reasonable for the vast majority of people at 55,” says Joshua Itzoe, a certified financial planner, principal at Greenspring Wealth Management, and the author of Fixing the 401(k) . “If you work 35 years–and let’s assume you live to be 95–you are in retirement longer than you were in the workforce, and that’s not feasible.” About 72 percent of Americans expect to work after they officially retire, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, up from 63 percent in 2008. “If you are already 55 or older and $50,000 is all you have saved for retirement, I think the only option you have is to try to push back your retirement age,” says VanDerhei. “Never retire until you are sure you have enough money, because it is going to be very difficult to enter the workforce later on.”

Investment risks. Baby boomers are getting a taste of what their Depression-era parents experienced: the devastating downside of the stock market. “Americans are starting to realize some of the realities of risk that they perhaps should have thought about a long time ago,” says Mitchell. “We have gotten lulled into a sense of security. The financial crisis should force us to pay much more attention to how much we can lose.”

After stuffing their retirement accounts with stocks for more than a decade, workers, on average, held less than half of their 401(k) money in stocks in early 2009, according to the human resources consulting firm Hewitt Associates. That’s mostly on account of market declines, but it also represents a shift to more conservative investments. Instead of chasing the highest possible return in a retirement account, retirees may want to consider significantly dialing down their risk. “Retirees need to create a decent floor to their living standard by using inflation-indexed bonds and investing in the safest way possible, which is paying off your mortgage,” says Laurence Kotlikoff, a professor of economics at Boston University and coauthor of Spend ‘Til the End: The Revolutionary Guide to Raising Your Living Standard, Today and When You Retire . If investors still want exposure to stocks, Kotlikoff recommends buying low-cost index funds.

Paying for dentalplanscoupon.com/medical-plans/integrating-leadership-development-and-continuous-improvement-practices-in-healthcare-organizations.html” title=”health”>healthcare. Even though Medicare kicks in at age 65, it may not be enough to meet retirees’ dentalplanscoupon.com/medical-plans/integrating-leadership-development-and-continuous-improvement-practices-in-healthcare-organizations.html” title=”health”>healthcare needs. A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2009 with Medicare insurance coverage will need approximately $240,000 to cover medical expenses throughout their retirement, up 6.7 percent from 2008, according to a Fidelity Investments estimate that includes deductibles, coinsurance costs, likely out-of-pocket expenses, and some services excluded by Medicare. The figure does not include over-the-counter medications, most dental services, and long-term care expenses–which could easily cause the costs to rise further.

Violet Lewis, 66, of San Marcos, Texas, has had Medicare insurance since she was laid off from her job in a call center in November 2008. Her medications for diabetes cost about $340 a month out of pocket. “I’m really good at calling the doctor and saying, ‘Hey, I need some samples.’ You can save a month or two of having to buy some prescriptions that way,” she says. Lewis also bought some medications in bulk to take advantage of discounts, and she tries to space out her doctor’s visits to avoid too many copays in the same month. She’s frugal in other ways, too. She uses Freecycle, a website where people exchange unneeded goods free of charge, and she started a patio garden where she grows her own vegetables. “You can grow so much in 4 square feet, and you get a pretty good meal for your effort,” Lewis says. “I bought a little freezer so I could take advantage of the sales and cook and freeze and put away.”

Unplanned retirement. Although he wasn’t planning to retire for seven more years, Milton Beach, 55, a former public affairs manager for Delphi in Kokomo, Ind., was forced into retirement in March. “It wasn’t my choice to retire,” he says. “I would have worked until I was 62.” The next month, Delphi eliminated his retiree dentalplanscoupon.com/medical-plans/integrating-leadership-development-and-continuous-improvement-practices-in-healthcare-organizations.html” title=”health”>health and life insurance coverage. Now, Beach pays about $720 per month for medical, vision, life, and dental insurance–and he’s still 10 years away from qualifying for Medicare. Beach says he’s now “recalibrating” his retirement while looking for work. To cut costs, he’s switched from name-brand products to generics, and he’s given up vacations. “There is no such thing as the golden years where you kick back and relax,” Beach says. “If you want to retire, you have to be very conservative and very judicious in terms of paying off bills.”

Jeanne Huff, 66, a retired registered nurse, and her husband, Marlin, a retired electronic technician, have been living below their means throughout their lives. The couple own their West Point, Utah, home, which Marlin insulated to save on heating and cooling costs, and they wear sweaters so they can keep the thermostat low. The Huffs drive an economical and reliable car (a Toyota Corolla), which they paid for in cash, and Marlin changes the oil and performs general maintenance himself. Jeanne grows vegetables in her garden and trades with family and friends. “We just don’t choose to do a lot of expensive things,” she says. “I think everyone will have to tighten up so people can have a good standard of living in retirement.” This probably doesn’t resemble the high life many Americans imagined they’d have in retirement, but such frugality may be what it takes to get cash-strapped baby boomers back on track.

Thorstensson H, Johansson B. Does oral health say anything about survival in later life? Findings in a Swedish cohort of 80+ years at baseline. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2009; 37: 325-332. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S

Oral health is an integral part of general health; oral health contributes to and is influenced by a nexus of inputs from biological, psychological, and social functioning. Little is known about the relationship between markers of oral health and subsequent survival in late life.

The aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of oral health indicators in the context of demographic and psychosocial variables on subsequent survival during an 8-year period in a population-based sample of the oldest-old.

The study sample comprised 357 individuals with a median age of 86 years who were selected from participants in the comprehensive longitudinal Origins of Variance in the Old-Old: Octogenarian Twins (OCTO-Twin) study, which examined monozygotic and dizygotic twins aged 80 years and older on five occasions at 2-year intervals. The OCTO-Twin study includes a broad spectrum of biobehavioural measures of health and functional capacity, personality, well-being, and interpersonal functioning. Oral health variables were number of teeth, per cent decayed and filled surfaces (DFS%), and periodontal disease experience. A longevity quotient (LQ), the ratio between years actually lived and those statistically expected, was determined. The survival categories were shorter than expected, as expected, or longer-than-expected. Multivariate analyses and the Kaplan-Meier method were used in the survival analyses.

No associations between LQ and number of teeth, edentulousness, and periodontal disease experience were found. But survival of men with severe periodontal disease experience was shorter than expected. DFS% was significantly associated with survival. Individuals with a low number of decayed and filled surfaces (DFS) had a shorter-than-expected survival time compared with those with high DFS scores. The overall predictor of survival was cognitive status, independent of age and gender when dental variables were analysed in the context of psychosocial factors. In addition, number of teeth, smoking, and better financial status in childhood and during working life were also significant predictors.

Oral health was significantly associated with subsequent survival in a sample of oldest-old individuals, although psychosocial factors were stronger predictors.

Stephen Heiden camped out the afternoon before the Mission of Mercy free dental program opened its doors at 6 a.m. Friday.

The La Crosse man wanted to make sure he was seen by one of the hundreds of dental professionals volunteering their time and skills in the first of its kind program in Wisconsin.

He couldn’t remember that last time he had seen a dentist, but he recalled one tooth extraction cost him $330.

“Before that, a long time ago, I had an extraction for $60,” Heiden said. “It had gotten to the point that I really needed to see a dentist and couldn’t afford it.”

He said he has a job that pays $9 an hour, but he has no medical or dental insurance.

“My bills I can afford to pay, but that’s about it,” Heiden said.

Heiden waited at the head of the line for 13 hours until the doors opened for the first of two days of the dental project. He was the first to be seen by a dentist, and he proudly kept his No. 1 card.

“He really needed to be seen,” said Karen Spitzer, a La Crosse dentist who filled six cavities for Heiden to start her day.

Spitzer said she could only spend a maximum 45 minutes per patient, but advised Heiden that he could go to the end of line and come through process again for more care.

That’s exactly what he did.

Heiden said he even waited longer so he could see Spitzer again. She filled a few more cavities for him.

“I’ve seen a lot of cavities, and I’ve pulled a lot of teeth,” Spitzer said. “I pulled 13 on my last patient.

“It’s been very rewarding,” she said. “I’ve had patients cry, and I received a lot of hugs.”

Heiden said he had nine cavities filled. He was especially worried about a front tooth.

“If I didn’t have this opportunity, I could have lost that tooth,” he said.

He said he couldn’t believe all the help he received and how he was treated with dignity and respect.

“I have not felt good about my smile,” Heiden said. “Actually I felt ashamed of it.”

Heiden said he hopes to start seeing a dentist regularly.

“I don’t want dentures. Now I hope I’m able to keep my own teeth,” he said.

Heiden was so grateful, he became a volunteer that day at the dental project and ran errands and escorted other patients.

He returned the next day, his 45th birthday, to volunteer again.

Someone brought candles to light on a piece of cake, and others sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

“I wanted to help someone else to give back for the help I received,” Heiden said. “This has been the most amazing gift I have been given.”

It’s amazing to me that dental care can be a gift when it should be a right. Stand up and tell your legislators that dental access should be a priority.

Government promised low-income people dental care and has yet to deliver.

MetLife, a leading provider of employee benefits, today announced the availability of a new resource designed to help small businesses more effectively leverage benefits programs as employers seek to drive employee productivity, loyalty and retention while containing overall costs. Small Business Benefits: Cost-Effective Strategies for Maximizing ROI, a supplement to MetLife’s 7th annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends, is the result of surveying nearly 1,000 benefits decision makers at companies with fewer than 500 employees as well as hundreds of the employees who work for these smaller businesses. The research supplement is available at whymetlife.com/sbtrends2009.

“Despite economic challenges, employee retention remains the top benefits objective for employers, but we have found that it is of even greater importance to smaller employers,” said Georgette Piligian, senior vice president, Small Business Strategy & Operations, MetLife. “For smaller businesses, the loss of a few key employees can have a significant impact on costs and operations. The MetLife study should help small businesses more effectively optimize their benefits programs as they strive to deliver on their business objectives.”

Benefits Linked to Loyalty & Retention

“To maximize the value of benefits, employers must first understand how they may help address retention and loyalty goals,” said Piligian.

According to MetLife’s 7th annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends, approximately seven in ten (66%) workers at companies with fewer than 500 employees report that benefits such as life, disability and dental insurance are significant drivers of their feelings of loyalty towards their employer, behind salary and wages (85%) and health benefits (71%). While small businesses are on par with larger companies when it comes to offering medical insurance (95% and 96% respectively), the divide widens for other products. For example, only 65% of small businesses with fewer than 500 employees offer dental insurance compared to 93% of those employers with 500 or more employees.

The addition of life, dental, disability and other insurance benefits can be important factors when considering overall job satisfaction among employees. The study found that 73% of employees who were satisfied with their benefits were satisfied with their job, while just 22% who were not satisfied with their benefits were satisfied with their job – an indicator that attention to benefits satisfaction could have a positive impact on employee loyalty and retention.

Productivity is increasing in importance for small businesses as well. For companies with fewer than 500 employees, productivity increased as a top benefits objective from 33% in 2007 to 43% in November 2008. However, Small Business Benefits: Cost-Effective Strategies for Maximizing ROI reveals that smaller employers may not be leveraging benefits as effectively as they could be and offers several strategies that small businesses can implement as they seek to drive productivity and retention. For most small businesses, this means maximizing the value of current benefits offered, deepening the pool of available benefits, and giving employees the tools, decision support and information required to make smart choices.

Voluntary Benefits

One significant – but often missed – opportunity for small businesses to maximize their benefits programs is to increase employees’ options through voluntary benefits. The MetLife study found that only about one-third (31%) of employers with fewer than 500 employees see voluntary benefits as a cost-effective way to enhance the attractiveness of an organization’s overall benefits offering. However, when it comes to voluntary benefits, employees say they like the convenience and time savings of buying at the workplace, the ease of payroll deductions as well as group rates. Approximately nine in ten small business employees are interested in their employer providing a greater array of employee benefits that they can choose to pay for on their own.

Wellness Programs

Similarly, small businesses may have the opportunity to actually reduce benefits costs through the use of workplace wellness programs. At a time when small businesses say they are spending 61% of their total benefits dollars on medical insurance, there are many wellness initiatives that can be implemented at little to no cost to the employer, potentially helping to control future medical costs for the employer and employee. In addition, employee interest in health and wellness is high. For example, 73% of employees who participate in wellness programs said the top reason to participate is “I want good health.”

Companies can also promote employee health and wellness through voluntary benefits that contribute to employees’ overall health, such as dental benefits that not only treat oral disease but provide access to important oral health education. While small businesses may not have the economies of scale to implement major wellness programs, Small Business Benefits: Cost-Effective Strategies for Maximizing ROI provides several low- and no-cost wellness program suggestions.

Education: One Key to Cost Effective Benefits Optimization

Small employers may also be missing an opportunity to educate their employees about their benefits options. Only about one-third of workers at businesses with fewer than 500 employees report that their company’s benefit communications effectively educate them on their benefits options so they can select those that best meet their needs. In these challenging economic times, employees are increasingly looking to employers for guidance on securing their personal financial safety net. Forty-three percent of employees at small businesses have taken a greater interest in understanding the employee benefits they receive through their employer because of recent economic events.

“Increased employee interest in workplace benefits also means increased opportunities for employers to leverage benefits to help meet their business objectives,” said Piligian. “Small businesses that are able to maximize the value of the benefits they currently offer – or increase the array of available benefits through the strategic use of voluntary benefits – to address employee loyalty and retentions goals can help put themselves in a better position for sustained viability and continued growth when the economy recovers.”

Study Methodology

MetLife’s 7th annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends surveyed employers and employees at two different points in time, August 2008 and November 2008, to assess how employer and employee attitudes toward employee benefits may have changed from prior years, and, more specifically, how they may have been affected by the changing economic climate. Both sets of research interviews were fielded by Gfk Custom Research North America. More than 1,500 interviews were conducted with benefits decision-makers at companies with two or more employees, representing a mix of industries and geographic regions, and more than 1,300 interviews were conducted with full-time employees, age 21 and over, at companies with a minimum of two employees. Approximately 1,000 interviews were conducted with benefits decision-makers at companies with less than 500 employees and approximately 600 interviews were conducted with employees who work at these smaller businesses. The 7th annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends is available at whymetlife.com/sbtrends2009 along with a wealth of other related benefits resources.

About MetLife

MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading provider of insurance, employee benefits and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. reaches more than 70 million customers around the world and MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States (based on life insurance in-force). The MetLife companies offer life insurance, annuities, auto and home insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance and retirement & savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Josh Cadwell wants to provide high quality dental care at affordable prices to all.

The Richland dentist recently began offering a membership program that provides preventive dental health care to adults for less than $20 a month. The standard plan includes one annual exam, two cleanings, necessary X-rays and fluoride treatments.

Two emergency visits a year and discounts of 15 percent or more on additional services are also part of the plan. The same services would cost $357 for those paying out of pocket.

It’s a better option than traditional dental insurance plans, which require a lot of paperwork, to save money and get personalized care, said Cadwell, who’s been practicing in the Tri-Cities for more than five years.

Small-business owners can save about 30 percent with his program compared to dental insurance plans, he said. “Our program provides the economies of group care with personalized attention of individual care.”

Cadwell, 32, also clarified that his plan works differently than a typical insurance plan but offers the same tax benefits to business owners for enrolling their employees while providing quality care to patients.

Cadwell Dental already has signed up 120 employees of Cadwell Laboratory as a client and 15 employees and their families at the Cathedral of Joy in Richland. Cadwell said he’s talking to a number of businesses like law firms, real estate companies and other business owners about his membership plans, which can be tailored to meet specific needs.

Nationally, about 40 percent to 50 percent of people see a dentist on a regular basis, but a minority of them do what they need to stay healthy, he said, adding preventive dental care can save huge expenses later.

Cadwell also offers other plans, ranging from $34.50 to $52.50 a month, for those who require more hygiene visits.

“It’s an interesting concept,” said Steve Dilley, co-owner of Harms Pacific Transport in Pasco, after learning about Cadwell’s plan. His company provides health care to 20 of its more than 30 employees but doesn’t offer dental health care.

“It’s not in our budget.” Dental insurance would cost about $50 per person per month to him, Dilley said.

He said he’s glad to hear about other options and is interested in taking a closer look at Cadwell’s program.

Small businesses nationwide are finding it difficult in the current economic environment to provide health coverage to employees, said Troy Nichols, Washington state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, an advocacy organization representing small and independent businesses.

An affordable dental care plan that business owners can use seems to be unique, he said.

Nichols said he knows of many clinics west of the Cascades that provide all primary health care services in their offices for a fixed monthly fee to members, regardless of the number of visits. It doesn’t include hospitalization.

Neither patients nor doctors have to deal with insurance companies in this direct health care practices business model, Nichols said. Cadwell’s plan could be a good alternative, he said. “A healthy employee is a more productive employee.”

A 2007 state law is helping make direct practice popular and is promoting access to basic medical care for all.

Cadwell’s model is technically not a direct practice because it doesn’t provide unlimited services, said Stephanie Marquis, spokeswoman for the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

But it may offer an affordable option for some people, she said.

Also, Cadwell’s program doesn’t require patients to pay in advance. The discounted plan breaks down to $19.50 a month for the appropriate preventive/diagnostic care plan, Cadwell said.

Members get the basic preventive care under their plans, and they pay a discounted rate for dental procedures when the services are performed, Cadwell said. Employees even get reimbursed up to 80 percent for dental procedures by their employers under specific plans.

“We are essentially making payment arrangements for services previously provided,” Cadwell said.

Cadwell discusses details of his dental membership program with small-business owners today at his practice at 475 Keene Road, Richland. Hours are from 5 to 8 p.m.