Spring Provider Newsletter 2020
Delta Dental of Minnesota


Delta Dental Provider Newsletter

COVID-19—our response:

Delta Dental continues to monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.

Our top priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of our organization while continuing to service your business.

Here are some of the things we have put in place to meet the ongoing needs of our dentists:

  • We have established an executive task force, including our CEO, executive leaders, a physician and an oral surgeon, to continuously monitor federal and state health official websites; to take action in response to this rapidly changing situation.
  • We continue to execute and test multiple scenarios to ensure our business continues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • We implemented work from home capabilities where necessary and cancelled all business travel for our employees to keep them safe.

We are confident that we have the technology and team in place to continue to serve your needs.

Teledentistry

Teledentistry provides the means for a patient to receive oral health consultation when the patient and dentist or dental professional are not able to meet in person.

In an effort to help keep dental emergencies out of hospital emergency rooms and allow dentists alternative ways to serve patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta Dental of Minnesota will make an exception and support emergency oral evaluations (D0140) completed via teledentistry in accordance with a member’s benefit plan allowance through 2020. To learn more about teledentistry, please click here.

Note: Providers rendering Teledentistry services to Minnesota Health Care Program members should follow DHS guidelines that can be found here.

Dental Office Toolkit

The safety and health of you, your employees and your patients are our top priority. In order for you to conduct business safely and efficiently, you can utilize the Dental Office Toolkit (DOT) in order to submit claims, review patient benefits, access patient’s dental history, view payments and Explanations of Benefits (EOBs), and more.

You can also find the most recent updates and amendments to the current dental terminology (CDT) codes on DOT by logging in and locating the Delta Dental of Minnesota Processing Policies to see how your claims will be handled code by code. This document will be very helpful to you and your front office staff to make sure you are understanding language and terminology used on EOBs.

DOT houses many useful resources and will be especially helpful to those working away from the office or at home. If you have not yet registered for the DOT, please do so here.

If you’re new to DOT, you can view a video tutorial about using DOT here. MinnesotaCare Tax itemization

Delta Dental of Minnesota will now accept itemized claims for payment of the MinnesotaCare tax using code D9985. This applies to all Delta Dental administered networks in Minnesota with the exception of Minnesota Select Dental.

To receive this tax reimbursement, simply itemize the tax using code D9985 and submit along with the underlying service. Please see the Explanation Of Benefits examples accessible here.

The submission of a claim for the MinnesotaCare tax as a separate line item will result in an additional 1.8% revenue to the provider for the related procedure. The charge amount for code D9985 should be the estimated tax amount.

Please refer to the FAQ section to answer any questions you may have regarding these changes. We have updated our Participating Dental Provider Policies and Procedures on the Dental Office Toolkit (DOT) to reflect and implement these changes.

Delta Dental Medicare Advantage Network

CMS requires that providers contracted with Medicare plans perform a quarterly review of their information listed in the “Find a Dentist” tool to ensure accuracy. If you have changes in your personal or clinic information, please complete a data request form here.

Minnesota Health Care Programs

Effective 3/2/2020, DHS’ Provider Manual now clearly states that providers must use the DHS Advanced Recipient Notice of Non-covered Service/Item form in order to bill a Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) recipient for non-covered services.

This form can be located on both the Delta Dental of Minnesota provider page here; as well as on the DHS Provider page here.

Just a reminder, Minnesota Select Dental (previously referred to as CivicSmiles) is the Delta Dental of Minnesota network for Minnesota Health Care Programs.

Please stay safe and healthy!

Thank you for your partnership!

Delta Dental of Minnesota