DeCare Dental, a global dental benefit management company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri's parent company, is pleased to introduce the International Emergency Dental Program – a service that gives dental members and their covered dependents access to emergency dental care from credentialed dentists around the world.
"The last thing a dental member wants to think about when they're working abroad or on vacation in another country is where they should go if they need emergency dental treatment," said Dennis Matheis, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri. "However, concerns like this can be set aside thanks to this program."
"When dental members experience an unexpected tooth injury or other dental emergency, they can call our international service center and talk with an English-speaking customer service representative who will help them find a dentist. In addition, all of the providers in this program are English-speaking too," said Matheis. "This is a great program for dental members because it gives them peace of mind and access to care 24 hours a day, each and every day, when they're traveling abroad."
When a member receives his or her emergency dental care from an International Emergency Dental Program dentist, they are reimbursed in full and the claim is not calculated into their annual dental plan maximum. However, their claim will be paid at an out-of-network level if they:
- Receive emergency dental care out of the country from a dentist who is not in the International Emergency Dental Program
- Receive non-emergency dental care from any dentist outside of the United States
Because of the services that are available with this program, members do not need to worry about what they should do or where they should go if they experience a dental emergency when traveling abroad.