Research Reports from the Department of Operations
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
3-25-1965
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present a model to be used in optimizing the design of prepaid dental plans. The model relates the characteristics of the plan and of the eligible members to the amount of unsatisfied need and the cost of operations. Those plan characteristics that can be controlled by the plan designer are the dental services to be offered and the financial and organizational structures. The socio-economic characteristics and previous dental history of the eligible plan members are considered to be beyond the control of the designer. The model parameters for each dental service considered for possible inclusion in the plan are the amount by which a person's oral health is enhanced when the service is received, the percentage of eligible plan members that will require the service, and the average cost of the dental service. The model further requires quantitative information on the effects of the plan characteristics on the percentage of plan members that will receive a particular service from the plan's dentists when they require it. A dynamic programming procedure is presented for solving the model in the most important case of selection of dental services to be provided.
Keywords
Operations research, Dental insurance, Health services administration--Mathematical models, Dental economics, Dynamic programming, Health services accessibility, Dental care--Utilization, Health insurance--Planning
Publication Title
Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Issue
Technical memorandum no. 33
Rights
This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use
Recommended Citation
Schrady, David A. and Dean, Burton V., "A Model for the Design of Prepaid Dental Plans" (1965). Research Reports from the Department of Operations. 314.
https://commons.case.edu/wsom-ops-reports/314