TRICARE Retiree Dental Plan reaches 1 million enrollees

San Francisco / Sacramento – Delta Dental of California announced today that enrollment in the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP) now exceeds 1 million covered lives, a new milestone for a program that continues as the nation’s largest, voluntary, all-enrollee paid dental program.

The TRDP was first authorized by Congress in 1997 and continues today to offer one of the few affordable, comprehensive dental benefit programs available to the nation's Uniformed Services retirees and their family members.

According to Lowell Daun, DDS, Senior Vice President for Delta Dental’s Federal Services division, high satisfaction and renewal rates among existing enrollees explains the program’s growing penetration of the estimated 4 million uniformed service retirees and family members who are eligible for the program.

“Ninety percent of the enrollees who enrolled during the current contract period beginning in 2003 remain with us today,” said Dr. Daun. “This is an impressive figure considering the voluntary nature of the program, and is a testament to the value enrollees are deriving from the program once they join.”

Dr. Daun notes that another large part of the program’s success stems from the tremendous support the program receives from the various beneficiary liaison and military association contacts assisting in making the eligible population aware of the TRDP.

The TRDP offers coverage for diagnostic and preventive services, basic restorative services, periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, dental emergencies and a separate dental accident benefit available immediately on the effective date of coverage. Additionally, the waiting period for a greater scope of benefits in the Enhanced Program is only 12 months, after which coverage for crowns, bridges, full/partial dentures and orthodontics goes into effect.

TRDP enrollees can seek care from any licensed dentist in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Canada. Optimal benefits are available to those who choose a participating TRDP network dentist in over 100,000 provider locations nationwide.

Eligible retirees and their family members can find answers to their questions about the program as well as enroll using Delta's dedicated TRDP web site at www.trdp.org or by calling the toll-free number at 866-567-1658.

Delta Dental of California belongs to a larger holding company system, formed jointly with Delta Dental of Pennsylvania and several affiliate companies, covering nearly 22 million enrollees in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Both the California and Pennsylvania Delta Dental Plans are members of the national Delta Dental Plans Association, which collectively covers 46 million Americans.