Dental professionals are concerned about Delta Dental’s recent acquisition of a dental practice chain, NBC News affiliate TMJ4 reported July 23.
Six notes:
1. Delta Dental of Wisconsin announced that it had purchased Cherry Tree Dental several weeks ago.
2. Cherry Tree Dental is based in Madison, Wis., and has several locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
3. In an email sent to providers, Delta Dental of Wisconsin said Cherry Tree Dental will operate as a separate company and the two organizations will have separate leadership structures.
4. The American Dental Association shared that it was concerned about a potential conflict of interest with an insurer being both the provider and payer. The organization said it was looking into the potential legal and regulatory implications of the deal.
5. Emily Eckdahl, DDS, told TMJ4 that the same entity providing both benefits and dental care causes a conflict of interest, stating “the line gets really blurry.”
6. Jed Roher, a spokesperson for Delta Dental of Wisconsin, said the insurer’s primary motivation for the acquisition was to ensure dental care access in rural parts of the state.
“With Cherry Tree Dental, they’re going to have their own independent leadership team that’s making all carrier contracting decisions. They’re gonna be having those kinds of rate-setting negotiations independently,” he said.
