By KALEY CONNER

kconner@dailynews.net

As a state entity, Fort Hays State University employees have been receiving dental benefits through Delta Dental for several years. Recently, however, that state-initiated contract has begun to cause a few concerns.

"We have had at least one provider that no longer accepts Delta Dental," said Tom Kuhn, director of human resources. "Right now, the primary concern is having providers within the area that our employees can go to who are covered under Delta Dental."

Concerns about the dental insurer's policies have prompted some dentists to stop participating in the insurance program.

An impending change handed down to Delta Dental's 39 member companies would allow the company to cap customer costs on uncovered dental procedures.

That change already has been contested in the Legislature. Senate Bill 389, which passed the Senate 40-0 on Feb. 17, would make it illegal for dental insurance providers to restrict costs for services the company will not cover.

"Overall, it was determined it was more important to not have those limitations artificially placed by an insurance company that wasn't being associated with the services that were being discussed," said Sen. Janis Lee, D-Kensington, noting there was some opposition to the bill.

"They weren't going to pay for them anyway, so why should they determine how much should be charged?"

The legislation, which is set for discussion Thursday in the House Insurance Committee, was introduced by the Kansas Dental Association, an advocacy group of state dentists.

Dentists are concerned the policy would interfere with the free-market system, and the price caps ultimately could result in higher service rates to compensate for lower fees, said Kevin Robertson, KDA executive director.

"There are overhead costs and things associated with running a dental office, and those things are considered, obviously, when fees are determined for an office," Robertson said. "We could see, in the future, a dental plan that covers a couple of cleanings a year, but then doesn't cover anything else. ... It just really becomes a discount plan."

When it comes to the proposed legislation, Delta Dental of Kansas has taken a neutral stance, since the bill would apply to all providers, said Chief Operating Officer Frank Clepper.

"The intent of the policy nationwide is to allow dental insurers to negotiate on behalf of the patient those charges that traditionally haven't been negotiated by anybody," Clepper said. "Delta Dental of Kansas is very neutral on the legislation itself. We believe as long as there's competitive parity, we're OK."

Delta Dental of Kansas is a member company of a plan association headquartered in Chicago. Other members already have implemented the policy change, but the Kansas group requested an exemption due to the legislative process, Clepper said.

Nationally, the idea of capping non-covered costs is not new, he said, noting Delta Dental's association and member companies wanted to remain competitive.

"Delta Dental competes across the nation with other health insurers providing dental coverage," he said. "Many of those carriers ... have already implemented a non-covered services policy."

Generally, the policy would be used to cap costs for elective or cosmetic procedures not covered under general coverage plans, he said. If the state legislation does not pass, it remains unclear when the change would take effect, Clepper said.

Delta Dental of Kansas is the state's largest dental insurance provider, with 91 percent of dentists participating. It also is the provider the state has contracted for employee benefits.

According to information from the Kansas Health Policy Authority, a total of 95,754 people, including dependents, are covered under the state employee health insurance plan.

"A lot of dentists were very upset with Delta over this new policy," Robertson said. "Some people did drop. I don't know how many."

The Hays Daily News attempted to contact 11 Hays dental offices. Of the nine that responded, only two do not accept Delta Dental coverage. Office representatives contacted declined comment.

Because Delta Dental provides coverage for so many, the issue has been sensitive, Robertson said.

"If you don't accept that, then you basically lose all those patients. So it's not as easy to say, 'We're not going to do that anymore,' " he said. "The dentists might have been seeing those patients for a number of years."

First Care Clinic, 105 W. 13th, launched a new community dental clinic Aug. 1. As a safety net provider, that clinic must provide care to all, regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay.

While the clinic has not yet seen a huge influx of Delta Dental patients needing services, there have been some new patients, and staff is anticipating an increase, said Chief Executive Officer Bryan Brady.

In Hays, the top three employers -- Hays Medical Center, FHSU and Hyas USD 489 -- are under contract with Delta Dental. Nearly 2,800 employees work at these three entities, based on information from the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development.

Bryce Young, chief operating officer at Hays Med, said he is not aware of employee complaints or difficulty obtaining dental services.