Delta Dental Retains Major Contract

Delta Dental Plan of California has retained a big state contract to provide dental services to the poor, state officials announced. The award is valued at $650,000 annually, or $3.9 billion over six years. Under the contract, Delta will provide administrative and dental services for nearly 5 million Medi-Cal recipients. Medi-Cal is the state’s version of the federal Medicaid health insurance program for the poor. Delta has held the dental contract since 1974, retaining it several times when the state put it out for competitive bid. Delta was the only company to submit a bid for the new contract, effective Feb. 2, according to the California Department of Health Services. The state contract provided about 40% of Delta’s total revenue last year, a Delta spokesman said. The San Francisco-based dental insurer employs 300 people who work exclusively on the program and whose jobs would have been affected by loss of the pact.