MEDFIELD, Mass.—Sept. 4, 2003—To manage their spiraling employee benefit budgets, employers are rapidly moving to consumer-directed health and dental plans that hold down costs without compromising employees’ access to care. Benemax, the company that back in 1988 introduced the first consumer-directed dental plan, Benedent, today announced a new suite of services from go2dental.com that gives members more value for their dental benefits with instant online information about dentists, costs and treatment plans.

Go2dental.com provides Benedent members with access to information on over 100,000 dentists certified by Dentistat, prevailing fees for dental procedures in their geographic area as well as answers to their treatment questions from a panel of dentists. Dentistat is an independent, third-party that reviews dentists’ practice patterns and credentials.

“As with any consumer-directed plan, Benedent gives members a real incentive to look for quality and value, and go2dental.com provides enormously helpful tools,” said David Cowles, executive vice president of Benemax.

With Benedent, employers set aside a dental benefit fund for employees, who can spend the money on ADA approved procedures as they and their dentists see fit, with no restrictions on the number of cleanings or other procedures. Employers appreciate the cost savings, while employees like the flexibility and control.

“Now, with go2dental.com as part of the Benedent plan, it’s direct and easy for employees and their families to get the information they need to make informed choices,” said Bret Guenther, CEO of go2dental.com. “Plan members can also ask questions online, and get a response from a panel of dentists.”

A typical Benedent plan pays the first $200 of annual dental expenses in full. “That more than covers the cost of cleanings, x-rays and other preventive care,” Cowles says. After that, a plan might pay 80 percent
of the next $500 and then 50 percent of the next $1,200.

The combination of Benedent and go2dental.com enables employers to offer a rich benefit schedule along with tools and incentives to help patients control cost.

About go2dental.com
Go2dental.com, based in Saratoga, Calif., (www.go2dental.com), is a leading provider of web-based dental solutions to insurance companies, managed care organizations and employers. Go2dental.com focuses on helping employees and their family members become more informed consumers of dental services by providing them with the tools to make better choices and obtain greater value.

About Benemax
Benemax, based in Medfield, Mass. (www.benemax.com), was founded in 1975 and now manages employee benefits for more than 200 corporate clients ranging from start-ups to divisions of Fortune 500 companies. Benemax designs and administers attractive yet highly cost-effective employee benefit packages, including consumer-driven health and dental plans. The company grew by more than 35 percent in 2002, the third consecutive year of over 35 percent growth.