Employers, and therefore brokers and consultants, often put their emphasis on the size of the provider network when selecting between dental benefits plans. Many people consider network size as a primary determinant of the plan’s value – thinking that the larger the network, the greater the employee access and overall savings. However, that simplistic approach may ultimately be shortchanging your clients and their employees.

“While a large network is important because of the potential for greater access, choice and savings it may provide to employees, it is important to actually do calculations to see if the potential for value can become the reality,” notes Alan Hirschberg, vice president, MetLife Dental Products. “One should take a closer look at whether the combination of network size and the negotiated fees with each dentist are actually driving value and savings for employers and employees.”

MetLife’s recently released guide, Check the Label: To Find the Dental Network That’s Right for Your Company, explains how employers must go beyond the standard measurement tools to better evaluate and compare the true value found in carrier networks. While accessibility and discount reports may provide employers with important insight about dental networks, these standard instruments also have limitations that can create “noise” in the numbers if applied too broadly. Even when a network appears to be much larger or smaller than others in these reports, there may be critical differences between the networks upon closer inspection – differences that could affect employee savings and satisfaction.