Shop Talk: Fay Donohue, Delta Dental
Photo/Christina H. Davis
Fay Donohue, President and CEO, Delta Dental Massachusetts.
Health care is a hot topic in Washington, D.C., as well as at the corner store. Costs are escalating and everyone is looking for a solution. One area of health care that’s often overlooked is oral health, which is a key part of the health care cost conundrum. One player in that field is Fay Donohue, president and CEO of Delta Dental Massachusetts, which is based in Charlestown. Here, Donohue talks about her career path as well as how good oral health could help lower overall health care costs.
How did you get to where you are today?
I graduated from Tufts and needed a job in Boston. The first job I found was working for New England Telephone. But then I moved into health care and I discovered that I was passionate about both business and health care. And then I had an extraordinary opportunity to learn at Blue Cross Blue Shield and then on the provider side for a home care company. I came to Delta Dental about 12 years ago as senior vice president.
You said you ‘discovered’ your passion for health care. What about health care resonates for you?
I think I’m the luckiest person in the world. I get up every day and I know that I’m doing something that I love that helps people and makes a difference in people’s lives. That’s about as good as it gets. With oral health specifically, I do realize that some people’s eyes glaze over when that topic is raised. But then I say, ‘Stop. Think about this.’ There are two types of oral disease and they’re essentially preventable. Yet 40 percent of kids are walking around with cavities and 10 percent of our minority kids are in pain today because of toothache. If you can make a difference in that child’s life, you’ve made a huge difference.
How many members does Delta Dental have in Massachusetts?
There are 2 million people that are covered by our dental products or plans. We also administer the dental portion of the MassHealth program, which is the Medicaid program.
What is your market share?
One has to step back for a second and recognize that half the people don’t have a dental plan. Of those that do have a dental plan, probably about half have the Delta plan.
So getting those people without a dental plan enrolled must be a big priority for you.
We definitely want to encourage businesses to offer dental plans. It’s always a challenge for employers to offer a wide variety of fringe benefits and we will argue again and again that if you don’t have good overall oral health, you don’t have good overall health. We know the biggest reason why people don’t go to the dentist. It’s not fear, it’s that they don’t have the money. Prevention works if you catch it and take care of your teeth. From an employer’s perspective, that means everything. A healthy employee means fewer days off and better productivity.
Will federal health care reform impact the dental industry?
It will. Although it doesn’t get a lot of publicity, oral health for kids will be considered a mandated benefit in 2014. That will make a huge difference.
Costs are obviously a big concern in the overall health care industry. But what about in the oral health sector?
You’re absolutely right, whether it be mental health, or oral health, or vision health, cost is something that all of us are thinking about. Costs are going up for a variety of reasons in every aspect of health, whether it be aging populations, new technology, or increased costs of simply providing the care. So what does one do? The power in many ways of oral health is prevention. If you can prevent, then you will make a huge difference in the overall costs. And we know it. We know if a kid has a cavity today, if you put fluoride treatments on their teeth, if you put sealants on them, they don’t have any more cavities. Not only is that incredibly good health, but it costs less.
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