The impact of concentration in dental insurance markets on dental reimbursement in Minnesota.

: The following article has been prepared by the American Dental Association (ADA) at the request of the Minnesota Dental Association (MDA). The article is the culmination of a rigorous national study by the ADA to measure the concentration of dental insurance in major dental marketplaces around the country. Five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's)from Minnesota were compared to other MSA's around the country. The results of this study are very significant for dentists and dental patients in Minnesota. Minnesota' practicing dental community may find the results of the study to be somewhat disturbing. Nevertheless, the MDA believes that it is important to share the results of this study with MDA members and others in the Minnesota dental community. It is important to consider both the study's short-term ramifications, as well as its long-term implications, as we attempt to better understand Minnesota's dental marketplace. It is also important for MDA members to know that the ADA brought the results of this study as they relate to the Minnesota Dental Marketplace to the appropriate federal agencies. The ADA believed that these agencies might choose to develop it into an anti-trust case. After reviewing the matter and working with the ADA over a long period of time, these agencies decided that they would not proceed with a Minnesota-based anti-trust case; additional information beyond what the ADA was legally able to provide was needed by the federal agencies in order for them to proceed. The MDA will continue to analyze and respond to these dental marketplace developments.