Integrate dental and vision with medical for whole-person health

In the United States, 9 out of 10 adults have some level of tooth decay — and 47% have gum disease,¹ which can triple the risk of heart attack or stroke.² Yet a routine dental exam can help detect these common conditions, enabling treatment to help minimize risk.

Vision exams can also play a role in better health outcomes. Doctors of optometry can detect more than 270 serious health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases and cancers, through a comprehensive eye exam.³

For employers, it’s an opportunity to improve employee health outcomes and future costs by integrating specialty benefits such as dental and vision with medical benefits.  

Employers also see strong returns on their investment in comprehensive benefits through streamlined administration, lower turnover, increased retention and even sizable medical cost savings for employees through coordinated care.

The best part? Blue Cross makes it easy for you with a focus on whole-person health and comprehensive benefits — both hallmarks of our trusted approach.

The impact of oral and eye health on overall wellness — and costs

Studies show patients with diabetes, cardiovascular disease or hypertension face up to 20% higher medical costs if they don’t have access to comprehensive vision benefits.² Likewise, improving dental health for members with some health conditions can lead to dramatic savings, with medical costs dropping by up to 40% for vascular disease.⁴ In fact, patients with diabetes save an average of $549 a year when they have access to yearly dental care such as cleanings and exams.⁵

It’s clear there’s a large, negative impact both monetarily and in health outcomes when members neglect care such as routine dental and eye exams — resulting in missed diagnoses, higher healthcare spending and reduced quality of life.

A trusted solution from Blue Cross built on access, transparency and stability

Blue Cross is the most trusted health plan for a reason.⁶ We infuse our mission of paving the way for everyone to achieve their healthiest life into our operating model, and our values drive us to integrate benefits for whole-person health. Across all our offerings, including specialty care such as dental and vision programs means:

• A commitment to member access: Broad provider networks and convenient care options
• Transparency: Clear communication, easy-to-understand benefits and member education
• Stability: Consistent service and value for your dollar

Integrated benefits simplify, streamline and strengthen your plan’s value  

Employers experience considerable advantages when they connect their dental, vision and medical plans from one provider. It’s a powerful way to achieve your benefit goals as an organization while improving health outcomes for employees. Integration has solid rewards:

• Lower turnover and better retention: Organizations that offer comprehensive benefits to employees have demonstrated a reduced likelihood of turnover by 26% and increased retention by 14%.⁷
• A simplified experience: Groups joining Blue Cross appreciate the simplicity of one implementation and enrollment process, and all groups can take advantage of streamlined billing. Members appreciate the ease of having one member ID card, one website and unified customer service.

But the real power of integrating your benefits comes from coordinated care for holistic member health. Integrated benefits facilitate bidirectional communication between doctors, dentists and vision providers. If a dentist or optometrist flags an underlying condition that could signal an issue or have a serious impact on overall health, the member’s physician is also aware. This means gaps can be monitored and closed across the care continuum.

Networks that cover you across the state — and nationally

When you choose Blue Cross, your employees will have access to more than 2,300 dentists throughout Minnesota, including rural and underserved communities, and 119,000 dentists across the country delivering best-in-class discounts of 33% nationally.⁸ You will experience the same high levels of satisfaction the Blue Cross name has come to represent for our members across the country.

Your employees can reap the benefits of our broad vision program, with more than 3,600 points of access throughout Minnesota and more than 197,000 points of access nationally,⁹ including top optical retailers like Target Optical, Costco, Warby Parker, Pearle Vision, Walmart, Sam’s Club and LensCrafters.

A simple equation for healthier employees

Providing dental, vision and medical benefits from one trusted provider is a straightforward and effective strategy that can simplify your experience, improve health outcomes for your employees and provide cost savings for you. It’s what you’ve come to expect from Blue Cross through our ongoing commitment to access, transparency and stability for every member.

Explore our comprehensive dental solutions and vision solutions for whole-person health.