title: Delta Dental Plan of Massachusetts' perspective on financing.
abstract: The continually increasing costs of dental treatment have stimulated searches for alternative means of financing care. Cost has also raised questions about the definition of quality in oral health. Payers are beginning to evaluate alternatives based on prevention and health outcomes rather than volume of treatment delivered. Not-for-profit organizations, such as the Deltas, have a proactive role to play in this search for alternatives. In the end, it is the combination of market forces which will shape both how dentistry is financed and how it is defined.
authors.affiliation: Delta Dental of Massachusetts, Medford 02155-9104, USA.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hunter
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003729:Dental Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D005376:Financial Management / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D005381:Financing, Organized; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000191:economics*; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D008404:Massachusetts; D009909:Oral Health; D009939:Organizations, Nonprofit; D011313:Preventive Dentistry / Q000191:economics; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D016896:Treatment Outcome