The Principal Financial Group Transforms The Way Employees Choose Their Dental Benefits

The Principal Employee Choice dental program adds more service and benefit choices to the mix

Des Moines, IA - The Principal Financial Group announces an innovative dental program that provides employers the flexibility to offer multiple plan designs to their employees with unparalleled options. The new Principal Employee Choice dental program gives plan members the opportunity they want to choose the benefits they need, without the limitations of pre-packaged or bundled benefit designs.

"Our current group dental programs allow the flexibility to customize a dental package to meet the needs of any client. With Principal Employee Choice, we're adding even more diversity of choice - not just at the plan sponsor level, but also for the members." said Bruce Hentschel, dental managed care director for The Principal(. "Through a full product continuum, enhanced benefit-level flexibility, a wide range of provisional flexibility, various managed care levels and one of the largest provider networks in the industry, The Principal has one of the most flexible and comprehensive dental programs available." Through Principal Employee Choice, employers with ten or more enrolled employees can offer two different dental benefits. Often known as core/buy-up or high/low plans, these benefits can be fully funded by the employer, employee or some combination of both.

For groups with more than 25 employees enrolled in the dental program, even more customization is available by varying service categories or units offered. This "unit flexibility" allows the option to build one plan with a base level benefit, such as preventive only or preventive and basic coverage, while the other plan may include a broader level of service, such as major or orthodontia coverage. For further customization, employers can choose where to place provisions such as endodontics, periodontics or oral surgery within each unit.

SOURCE: Principal Financial Group