Word: dental
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Until 2003, HUHS sponsored an optional dental plan for students. However, financed solely by premiums collected from students ($130 per year) and with a relatively generous benefit cap of $1,500, the HUHS student dental plan was consistently in the red. In an effort to limit losses, HUHS restructured the plan in 2004, increasing the premium to $225 and dramatically decreasing coverage to $400. Student enrollment plummeted from over 2,000 to approximately 350. The remaining students were those who expected to need expensive treatment in the near future; their costs could no longer be defrayed by the premiums...
...result, HUHS discontinued the Student Dental Plan at the start of last spring. HUHS contacted several major dental insurers to develop a substitute, but companies declined to bid on a plan for Harvard students. Instead, HUHS offered students a discount package of $180 for an annual exam, x-ray, and cleaning, and 10 percent savings on treatment at the Holyoke Center...
...March 2005 open meeting between HUHS representatives and graduate students from across the university, students repeatedly and vocally expressed concerns about the dearth of affordable, timely dental health care options. In response to these complaints, HUHS and a task force of graduate students began to intensively reinvestigate dental care options. The task force received bids from several plans that provide discounted services on other university campuses, as well as a newly-designed plan by Delta Dental...
...result of the high quality of its in-network dentists and the positive student response to the plan in the spring dental survey, HUHS selected the Preferred One plan of Delta Dental of Massachusetts. While this plan does not provide comprehensive insurance, it does make dental care significantly more affordable. For $210 for an individual (or $525 for a family), a student can obtain basic dental care including annual checkup, x-rays, and semiannual cleanings at no additional charge from an in-network dentist (there are 26 within two miles of the Cambridge campus). Students also receive...
...heartily applaud the hard work that Harvard University Health Services has invested in developing the Delta Dental option for students. We particularly appreciate their willingness to take on additional administrative hassle, disseminate information about the plan, and collect the registration forms in the absence of any compensation. However, HUHS’ efforts are only a first step. It is time for Harvard to re-examine the importance of dental health for its student community and consider requiring departments to cover the cost of the dental care plan premium as an essential component of students’ financial aid package. Harvard...