Delta Dental shall provide notification if any dental services or claims are denied, in whole or in part, stating the specific reason or reasons for the denial. If you have any complaint regarding eligibility, the denial of dental services or claims, the policies, procedures or operations of Delta Dental, or the quality of dental services performed by a Contract Dentist, you may call Delta Dental's Customer Service department at 800-422-4234, or the complaint may be addressed in writing to:

Quality Management Department
P.O. Box 1860
Alpharetta, GA 30023

Written communication must include 1) the name of the patient, 2) the name, address, telephone number and identification number of the Primary Enrollee, 3) the name of the Client and 4) the Dentist's name and facility location.

For complaints involving an adverse benefit determination (e.g. a denial, modification or termination of a requested benefit or claim) you may file a request for review (a complaint) with Delta Dental within at least 180 days after receipt of the adverse determination. Delta Dental's review will take into account all information, regardless of whether such information was submitted or considered initially. The review shall be conducted by a person who is neither the individual who made the original benefit determination, nor the subordinate of such individual. Upon request and free of charge, Delta Dental will provide you with copies of any pertinent documents that are relevant to the benefit determination, a copy of any internal rule, guideline, protocol, and/or explanation of the scientific or clinical judgment if relied upon in making the benefit determination. If the review of a denial is based in whole or in part on a lack of medical necessity, experimental treatment, or a clinical judgment in applying the terms of the Contract, Delta Dental shall consult with a Dentist who has appropriate training and experience. If any consulting Dentist is involved in the review, the identity of such consulting Dentist will be available upon request.

Within 5 calendar days of the receipt of any complaint, including adverse benefit determinations as described above, the quality management coordinator will forward to you an acknowledgment of receipt of the complaint. Certain complaints may require that you be referred to a regional dental consultant for clinical evaluation of the dental services provided. Delta Dental will forward to you a determination, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of a complaint. If the complaint involves severe pain and/or imminent and serious threat to a patient's dental health, Delta Dental will provide the Enrollee written notification regarding the disposition or pending status of the complaint within three days.

If you have completed Delta Dental's grievance process, or you have been involved in Delta Dental's grievance procedure for more than 30 days, you may file a complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care. You may file a complaint with the Department immediately in an emergency situation, which is one involving severe pain and/or imminent and serious threat to your health.

The California Department of Managed Health Care is responsible for regulating health care service plans. If you have a grievance against your health plan, you should first telephone your health plan at 800-422-4234 and use your health plan's grievance process before contacting the Department. Utilizing this grievance procedure does not prohibit any potential legal rights or remedies that may be available to you. If you need help with a grievance involving an emergency, a grievance that has not been satisfactorily resolved by your health plan, or a grievance that has remained unresolved for more than 30 days, you may call the Department for assistance. You may also be eligible for an Independent Medical Review (IMR). If you are eligible for IMR, the IMR process will provide an impartial review of medical decisions made by a health plan related to the medical necessity of a proposed service or treatment, coverage decisions for treatments that are experimental or investigational in nature and payment disputes for emergency or urgent medical services. The Department also has a toll-free telephone number (1-888-HMO-2219) and a TDD line (1-877-688-9891) for the hearing and speech impaired. The Department's Internet Web site http://www.hmohelp.ca.gov has complaint forms, IMR application forms and instructions online.

IMR is generally not applicable to a dental plan, unless that dental plan covers services related to the practice of medicine or is offered pursuant to a contract with a health plan providing medical, surgical or hospital services.

If the group health plan is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), you may contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) for further review of the claim or if you have questions about the rights under ERISA. You may also bring a civil action under section 502(a) of ERISA. The address of the U.S. Department of Labor is: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20210.