Scion Dental Awarded Maryland Medicaid Contract

Scion Dental Awarded Maryland Medicaid Contract

Rapidly growing dental benefit management company receives highest technical evaluation while also submitting the lowest bid

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wisc. – November 3, 2015 – Scion Dental, part of the SKYGEN USA family of distinguished benefit management companies, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the State of Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) to manage dental benefits for the roughly 650,000 Medicaid members in the Maryland Healthy Smiles Dental Program (Maryland Healthy Smiles).

The contract, which goes into effect January 1, 2016, continues the rapid growth trajectory that both Scion Dental and SKYGEN USA have experienced in 2015. Once the contract becomes active, Scion Dental will be managing benefits for more than 10 million covered lives across Medicaid, Medicare and commercial payer programs in more than 65 markets.

Scion Dental has been aggressively expanding its footprint in dental benefit management since its ownership emerged from a five-year non-compete agreement following the sale of a previous company that focused exclusively on managing Medicaid dental benefits. This initial state contract creates an additional proof point for other Medicaid dental carve-out states looking to improve the performance and functionality of their programs. Maryland is one of 13 carve-out states for dental, which means Scion Dental will be working directly with the state, rather than through managed care organizations, to help address some of the challenges that come along with administering Medicaid dental programs.

One of three dental benefit management organizations competing for the contract, Scion Dental was selected as a result of having both the highest technical scores and the lowest bid. DHMH’s decision to award the contract to Scion Dental has been approved by a unanimous vote of the Maryland Board of Public Works, which consists of the governor, state treasurer and state comptroller.

Key to the high technical marks for Scion Dental is its use of the Enterprise System offered by its sister company Wonderbox Technologies. The software will provide industry-leading functionality, especially in the area of provider and member self-service web portals. These portals will allow DHMH to offer new tools, and a remarkably user-friendly experience, to both its members and its providers.

The new provider portal will also reduce the administrative burdens on dentists and their office staff. Among other things, the portal will allow providers to confirm member eligibility in an instant, confirm that services will be paid before they are performed, review applicable clinical guidelines, and submit authorization requests electronically (receiving answers within hours instead of days or weeks).

The member portal will give users the ability to instantly find dentists, check their eligibility for services, obtain answers to questions, and perform other tasks online, at their convenience, from any computer or mobile device. Both the member and provider portals will now be available from the State of Maryland’s website, further simplifying their use.

The awarding of the contract will also bring jobs to the State of Maryland. Scion Dental is establishing an office in the state, which will be home to its contract director, dental director and other support staff. In addition, Scion Dental is contracting with a local minority-owned business to build a call center team that will be dedicated to serving the Healthy Smiles program.

“Managing Medicaid benefits is very different from managing commercial benefits,” said John Schaak, president of Scion Dental. “It requires a very specific level of knowledge and a very particular set of skills. With our team’s extensive experience in managing Medicaid benefits, and the unique technology solutions we bring to the table, we are confident that we will deliver the highest quality experience for members and providers, while also helping the State of Maryland reduce its administrative costs. We are delighted that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has selected Scion Dental to be its partner in managing the Healthy Smiles program, and look forward to ensuring the program’s members receive the quality care they deserve.”

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