What Human Resource Professionals Need To Know About Caring For Aging Smiles

These truly are tough economic times. Every day, we hear more about companies that are cutting back on employer-paid benefits—in ways that reach deeper and farther than ever before. Companies–large and small–have stopped contributing to the benefit packages of not just current employees, but also to the employees who devoted their careers to a company’s success—their retired workforce. All the way around, everyone is hurting.

As human resource professionals, it’s a difficult job when you have to be the one to communicate the end of employer-paid benefits. And the retired workforce is particularly vulnerable, since many are at an age when returning to work isn’t feasible.

It is important to pay close attention to this new reality for retired workers and to provide insurance options to compensate for the loss of employer-paid benefits—plans available on an individual basis with no administration or contracts for the groups.

Your work with retirees will only continue to grow in the years to come. Consider these staggering numbers: In 2011, the baby boomer generation will begin to retire en masse. On a national scale, this generation includes more than 78 million Americans, or nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population. At the same time, medical and dental issues rise as people age and many are on a fixed income. Additionally, this generation can expect to live longer than ever before, requiring insurance for longer periods of time.

When discussing health care benefits with retirees or prospective retirees, consider the importance of dental insurance for retired workers, as this generation has unique dental needs. When faced with losing their health care benefits, many retirees will overlook the importance of dental insurance.

Why is dental insurance important for those over 65? Many people feel that their teeth can last a lifetime—but aging teeth and gums have special health care needs. Consider these facts:

• Poor or neglected dental health can contribute to severe medical issues such as heart disease and diabetes—diseases that strike many in their retirement years.
• Older Americans can experience dental decay on tooth roots because of gum recession. Likewise, the severity of periodontal gum disease increases with age.
• Poor oral health can be an indicator of other serious problems, so baby boomers who do not get regular dental checkups may miss a diagnosis of severe illness.
• Older people often take greater amounts of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and these medications can cause dry mouth, reducing the flow of saliva and increasing the risk for oral disease.
• Incidences of oral cancer increase with age.

We know that without insurance, people do not go to the dentist until they are in acute distress -- contributing to higher treatment costs in emergency rooms across the country. Dental insurance encourages preventive care and is therefore highly cost-effective.

How do you balance the bottom line and the needs of retiring workers?

Fortunately, some insurance companies have developed plans that address the needs of both employers and retirees. When evaluating insurance plans, please consider the following:

• Quality plan design—so retirees have confidence they can continue the same type of coverage they enjoyed before retirement.
• Affordable premiums—so the plans are accessible and attractive to retirees with no cost or contract to your company and no administrative headaches for you.
• Easy-to-use by retirees—so individuals are encouraged to seek the care they need.
• Superior customer service—so it’s easy to enroll, pay premiums and get questions answered quickly.
• Nationwide networks.

Renaissance America has underwritten plans that are now being utilized by several of the largest employers in the United States. Called Renaissance Dental Extend for Retirees, this fully-insured program gives employers a safety net for their retirees to help ease the transition to an individual plan. Of importance to human resource professionals is the fact that the policy is written directly to the individual, so the employer is relinquished from the responsibility of administering the plan.

It’s likely that these tough economic times will be here for awhile and people will need to pay larger amounts out-of-pocket for their medical and dental premiums. Being able to play your part in helping ease the transition for your retirees to cost-effective individual insurance options will be another way you can thank them for their years of hard work and company loyalty.

For an in-depth analysis of the many factors involved in the decline in employer-sponsored retiree health benefits and an overview of the connection between oral health and overall health , please download the white paper “Caring For Aging Smiles: New Options For Retirees” at www.RenaissanceDental.com.