September 16, 2024 • 13 mins
In this podcast, Tom Raffio, President and CEO of Northeast Delta Dental, highlights the company's dedication to improving oral healthcare for New Hampshire veterans. Since the program's inception, Northeast Delta Dental has invested over $1 million to provide essential dental care to veterans who otherwise couldn't afford it. Raffio discusses the organization's deep commitment to honoring those who served, focusing on bridging the gap in dental care access and ensuring that veterans receive the treatment they deserve. This initiative reflects Northeast Delta Dental's ongoing efforts to support the health and well-being of the veteran community in New Hampshire.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm joined by Tom Raphael, who is the president and
CEO of Northeast Delta Dental. And we're discussing today, the
Veterans Freedom To Smile program in the State of New Hampshire.
Um, Tom, it seems you there's over been, you guys
have put in over a million dollars over the years
and there is something amazingly important about our veterans. I
(00:22):
can't tell you how wonderful this program is or these
programs are. Every time I hear something about veterans, I'm
a huge supporter of tunnel the towers and, and that
whole thing and, and when I see something like this, II,
I love it even more specifically because it's something people
don't think about as much.
And, and I would imagine that, uh, good dental, you know,
(00:46):
sort of practices where, where, where, uh, uh, people who
have come back from wars or veterans are veterans are,
don't have perfect oral health and need it and need
help with insurance or, uh, sort of bridging the gap
to some very expensive dental procedures must go a really
long way in helping their own mental health. Maybe you
can talk a little bit about the Freedom to Smile
(01:07):
program in the state of New Hampshire and how it's going.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Sure, thank you for the opportunity. So we have about
91,000 veterans in New Hampshire,
but only 4000 of those have access to dental care
through the va because of congressional rules, federal guidelines, you
have to demonstrate that you were fully disabled and there
are certain other criteria. But the reality is of the
(01:34):
91,000 veterans that have served our country and live in
New Hampshire, only about 4000 have access to care at
the va dental care at the va. So not because
of the great people,
the va but just because of those congressional guidelines or
federal guidelines. So we uncovered that at North East Delta
Dental about seven or eight or nine years ago. And
(01:58):
I got my board of directors, very generous board of
directors to invest a couple of $100,000 a year to
establish a program where we have set up a special
network of dentists who have served our country and are
willing to see the veterans at a discounted level.
And literally, we've seen hundreds of veterans during this period
(02:25):
of time totaling over a million dollars of dental care.
And the program is really, really simple. They literally call
me directly at area code 603 223, 1000, 300. And
I talked to the vet
and that this will sound unusual that the CEO is
(02:46):
directly administering the program. But I have a chief dental
officer that I usually hand this over to. And then within,
within two weeks, you know, we're seeing the veteran and
all the veteran has to prove is that he is
really a veteran and has been honorably discharged and also
(03:07):
doesn't have access to other, other dental insurance.
So I think we've, uh, we've really short up the gap. Um,
and speaking to these veterans,
they now understand the importance of oral health and some
have had to have other heart surgery deferred until their
(03:28):
oral care is
up to speed. And some people are starting to, uh
you know, to recognize that. And the, and the governor
um recognized this program, which we work with the uh
veterans Services here in New Hampshire. And it's called the
Freedom To Smile Initiative. And, and Governor Chris Nuno did
(03:49):
a really nice proclamation of it. And it's a real
example of collaborating between the
uh the Military Affairs and Veteran Services and, and Delta Dental.
So we can get to these um underserved veterans with
uh their free or very reduced cost of all health services.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
And that's the point really, I mean, if, if the
CEO is gonna get down in the weeds, so to speak,
and actually sort of do the work of, of what
you're proposing to do to, to sort of assist veterans.
Number one, you must really mean it. And number two,
I would think that there's also um, a good amount of,
uh, sort of options for, for, for veterans through Delta Dental. Right. That, that,
(04:31):
you know, if you're not necessarily qualified for this particular program, then, then,
you know, if you be, as you believe, what you believe, the,
the point is, is to get the care to the veteran,
regardless of what form that takes.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly. We've, uh, we've published a really nice one page
infographic that's been out there uh for oral care options
for veterans, there's actually seven options. There's the freedom to
smile program which I just referenced and there veterans just
call me at 603223, 300. But there is also um,
(05:09):
New Hampshire Dental Society has called the Take Five Program,
um the Medicaid program, the New Hampshire, which I've alluded to. Um,
some veterans fall into that category. Um One out of
10 veterans fall into the category where they can actually
get their dental benefits at the va. And then there's
a more traditional dental insurance and sometimes a veteran wants
(05:34):
to buy uh dental insurance as an individual. So I,
I connect them to Delta Dental covers me
com and then we have something called Dental Lifelines donated
Dental services Network. And then there's a series of New
Hampshire community based dental clinics. So there's what I call
seven buckets or seven options for veterans for health care
(05:56):
and veterans can be slotted into one of those seven buckets. Now,
the big bucket, of course, is our program, the Freedom
to Smile program.
Sometimes veterans aren't eligible for all the other programs. So, we've,
I think, done a nice job of getting that infographic
out there and, um, working with veteran services so that they,
(06:20):
they understand, um, the people that work for veteran services
understand the options that they can give to their, uh,
their veteran colleagues. Well, and
Speaker 1 (06:28):
let's face it. Our veterans are aging, right? That, that
you've got, um, a great number, you know, between Vietnam
and certainly the Gulf Wars, right? Even
it's amazing for me to think that guys that were
in the, in Gulf War one are, you know, getting
older now and, and it's, you know, it's a, it's a,
I suppose, a bad time to look in the mirror myself, right?
(06:49):
That you, you realize how old you're getting. But, um,
one of the things that, that I, that I think is,
is really great is, is that these veterans as they
get older, one of the most important things and this
goes for any health is socialization as you get older
and, and being able to be social and visit with
friends or, um, even if you're in an assisted living
(07:12):
facility or independent living facility, the idea of um going
to the social functions that they have being around other
people is, is just brutally important. And I can only
imagine how important quality dental care is
to that process. That there's nothing worse than, you know,
being sort of, uh, ashamed for lack of a better
(07:35):
term or, you know, uh, uh, you know, because your
teeth are in a, in a certain way that, that
you wanna get them fixed and, and it must do
so much to these veterans confidence just to have the
quality care available,
Speaker 2 (07:50):
right on target. I mean, poor oral health has been
linked to mental health issues for years. And I can't
tell you the number of times I've gotten letters or
phone calls from veterans saying
once I got my rural health needs met, I was
able to go to these family events, et cetera. Um
(08:11):
and their mental health improves organically. So great point. And
of course, beyond mental health, a lot of oral disease
share common risk factors for cardiovascular disease,
certain types of cancer, diabetes, respiratory disease, pregnancy complications. So
(08:33):
it's very important that people take care of their teeth,
but they need access, which is why we developed this
seven options for veterans and specifically highlighting veterans freedom to smile.
But the point
just made about mental health and socialization. You know, I
(08:54):
hear it in the folks that I, that I speak with,
um sometimes the spouse calls for the the person and
then eventually I get to the, to the and they're
like new people once they can smile and go to
a family event.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Yeah, I it is, it's very important and, and it's
it's probably the number one like II, I personally believe
that lack of socialization hurts our seniors in general, veteran
or not. And it's that, that, that socialization is so
important as you, as you get older. Uh Tom, another
quick question for you in the State of New Hampshire.
(09:35):
Are you finding that, that just beyond veterans or veterans
in general or just beyond the programs? Just folks
looking for dental insurance in general? Um, there used to
always be this, you know, I remember, you know, getting
a job. It's like, well, do you want medical? Yeah,
I have to get medical insurance. Well, what about dental? Ah, nah,
never mind the dental or whatever. But I think now
(09:56):
people are, and it's to your point earlier that,
um, you know, there's a lot of studies out there
that show that good health and oral health and dental
health is good health and, and the, the, the sort
of synergy of those two things is becoming a lot
more prevalent in our society. You finding more people are
taking you up on dental insurance, are they realizing that
(10:18):
it's not as expensive as they thought? Are they realizing
that it covers more than they thought and that they're
more proactive about their dental health?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Absolutely. The growth in our individual product has been extraordinary.
So once, when the Affordable Care Act was passed, dental
became on what was known as the public exchanges. And
then we also created private exchanges. So, for the most part,
you know, up until
(10:48):
15 years ago, people, the only way they were really
getting their dental was through the employer. Now, if the
employer isn't offering it, they can get it individually. We've
seen that skyrocket. So that's a good sign. And we've
also seen that more and more employers are offering dental.
It's no longer viewed as a, to your point. Our
(11:09):
first jobs, we probably looked at it as a nice
to have. No, no, it's no longer a nice to have.
It's just as important.
Um you know, as the medical benefit. And we're definitely
seeing that because when, when an employer offers dental to
their employees, there's high participation in it. So it's taking
(11:32):
a long time for the public to and our political
leaders to understand it because in New Hampshire, we, many
of us for like close to 25 years
really did a lot of lobbying and educating at the
statehouse to add a dental benefit for people on Medicaid
and New Hampshire and Maine were two of the last
states that have added dental on the Medicaid front. And
(11:56):
part of that was just the constant education and for
the body politic in general understanding that you can't have
good overall health without good oral health.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Yeah. No, that's, it's so true. And that's funny. I didn't,
I didn't realize that they were the last couple of
states to, to come on, but they are fully on
board now with their Medicaid programs.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
That is correct. It's, uh, it's not without its challenges. Uh,
but definitely we've been working hard at it. Actually Delta
Dental in New Hampshire actually administers has been administering the program,
the Medicaid program since April 1 of 2023. Um, and
then on the veterans program,
(12:39):
we've been in, um, you know, we've been at it between,
you know, like about eight or nine years.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Wow, Tom Raphael is the president and CEO of Northeast
Delta Dental. You can find them at Ne delta.com if
you are a veteran and would like to participate in
the New Hampshire program or find out more information.
Why not call Tom Direct at 603223, 1300. And, uh,
(13:06):
and it really is a tremendous program and I can't
tell you how wonderful it is to see all you're
doing for the veterans of the state of New Hampshire.
Thank you so much, Tom.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Thank you. And I love talking to veterans. So I
do hope they call me if you happen to get
my voicemail though. Leave your phone number, please. Thank you.
Ok,
Speaker 1 (13:25):
thanks Tom. It was great chatting. Thank
Speaker 2 (13:27):
you. Take care.
I'm joined by Tom Raphael, who is the president and
CEO of Northeast Delta Dental. And we're discussing today, the
Veterans Freedom To Smile program in the State of New Hampshire.
Um, Tom, it seems you there's over been, you guys
have put in over a million dollars over the years
and there is something amazingly important about our veterans. I
(00:22):
can't tell you how wonderful this program is or these
programs are. Every time I hear something about veterans, I'm
a huge supporter of tunnel the towers and, and that
whole thing and, and when I see something like this, II,
I love it even more specifically because it's something people
don't think about as much.
And, and I would imagine that, uh, good dental, you know,
(00:46):
sort of practices where, where, where, uh, uh, people who
have come back from wars or veterans are veterans are,
don't have perfect oral health and need it and need
help with insurance or, uh, sort of bridging the gap
to some very expensive dental procedures must go a really
long way in helping their own mental health. Maybe you
can talk a little bit about the Freedom to Smile
(01:07):
program in the state of New Hampshire and how it's going.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Sure, thank you for the opportunity. So we have about
91,000 veterans in New Hampshire,
but only 4000 of those have access to dental care
through the va because of congressional rules, federal guidelines, you
have to demonstrate that you were fully disabled and there
are certain other criteria. But the reality is of the
(01:34):
91,000 veterans that have served our country and live in
New Hampshire, only about 4000 have access to care at
the va dental care at the va. So not because
of the great people,
the va but just because of those congressional guidelines or
federal guidelines. So we uncovered that at North East Delta
Dental about seven or eight or nine years ago. And
(01:58):
I got my board of directors, very generous board of
directors to invest a couple of $100,000 a year to
establish a program where we have set up a special
network of dentists who have served our country and are
willing to see the veterans at a discounted level.
And literally, we've seen hundreds of veterans during this period
(02:25):
of time totaling over a million dollars of dental care.
And the program is really, really simple. They literally call
me directly at area code 603 223, 1000, 300. And
I talked to the vet
and that this will sound unusual that the CEO is
(02:46):
directly administering the program. But I have a chief dental
officer that I usually hand this over to. And then within,
within two weeks, you know, we're seeing the veteran and
all the veteran has to prove is that he is
really a veteran and has been honorably discharged and also
(03:07):
doesn't have access to other, other dental insurance.
So I think we've, uh, we've really short up the gap. Um,
and speaking to these veterans,
they now understand the importance of oral health and some
have had to have other heart surgery deferred until their
(03:28):
oral care is
up to speed. And some people are starting to, uh
you know, to recognize that. And the, and the governor
um recognized this program, which we work with the uh
veterans Services here in New Hampshire. And it's called the
Freedom To Smile Initiative. And, and Governor Chris Nuno did
(03:49):
a really nice proclamation of it. And it's a real
example of collaborating between the
uh the Military Affairs and Veteran Services and, and Delta Dental.
So we can get to these um underserved veterans with
uh their free or very reduced cost of all health services.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
And that's the point really, I mean, if, if the
CEO is gonna get down in the weeds, so to speak,
and actually sort of do the work of, of what
you're proposing to do to, to sort of assist veterans.
Number one, you must really mean it. And number two,
I would think that there's also um, a good amount of,
uh, sort of options for, for, for veterans through Delta Dental. Right. That, that,
(04:31):
you know, if you're not necessarily qualified for this particular program, then, then,
you know, if you be, as you believe, what you believe, the,
the point is, is to get the care to the veteran,
regardless of what form that takes.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly. We've, uh, we've published a really nice one page
infographic that's been out there uh for oral care options
for veterans, there's actually seven options. There's the freedom to
smile program which I just referenced and there veterans just
call me at 603223, 300. But there is also um,
(05:09):
New Hampshire Dental Society has called the Take Five Program,
um the Medicaid program, the New Hampshire, which I've alluded to. Um,
some veterans fall into that category. Um One out of
10 veterans fall into the category where they can actually
get their dental benefits at the va. And then there's
a more traditional dental insurance and sometimes a veteran wants
(05:34):
to buy uh dental insurance as an individual. So I,
I connect them to Delta Dental covers me
com and then we have something called Dental Lifelines donated
Dental services Network. And then there's a series of New
Hampshire community based dental clinics. So there's what I call
seven buckets or seven options for veterans for health care
(05:56):
and veterans can be slotted into one of those seven buckets. Now,
the big bucket, of course, is our program, the Freedom
to Smile program.
Sometimes veterans aren't eligible for all the other programs. So, we've,
I think, done a nice job of getting that infographic
out there and, um, working with veteran services so that they,
(06:20):
they understand, um, the people that work for veteran services
understand the options that they can give to their, uh,
their veteran colleagues. Well, and
Speaker 1 (06:28):
let's face it. Our veterans are aging, right? That, that
you've got, um, a great number, you know, between Vietnam
and certainly the Gulf Wars, right? Even
it's amazing for me to think that guys that were
in the, in Gulf War one are, you know, getting
older now and, and it's, you know, it's a, it's a,
I suppose, a bad time to look in the mirror myself, right?
(06:49):
That you, you realize how old you're getting. But, um,
one of the things that, that I, that I think is,
is really great is, is that these veterans as they
get older, one of the most important things and this
goes for any health is socialization as you get older
and, and being able to be social and visit with
friends or, um, even if you're in an assisted living
(07:12):
facility or independent living facility, the idea of um going
to the social functions that they have being around other
people is, is just brutally important. And I can only
imagine how important quality dental care is
to that process. That there's nothing worse than, you know,
being sort of, uh, ashamed for lack of a better
(07:35):
term or, you know, uh, uh, you know, because your
teeth are in a, in a certain way that, that
you wanna get them fixed and, and it must do
so much to these veterans confidence just to have the
quality care available,
Speaker 2 (07:50):
right on target. I mean, poor oral health has been
linked to mental health issues for years. And I can't
tell you the number of times I've gotten letters or
phone calls from veterans saying
once I got my rural health needs met, I was
able to go to these family events, et cetera. Um
(08:11):
and their mental health improves organically. So great point. And
of course, beyond mental health, a lot of oral disease
share common risk factors for cardiovascular disease,
certain types of cancer, diabetes, respiratory disease, pregnancy complications. So
(08:33):
it's very important that people take care of their teeth,
but they need access, which is why we developed this
seven options for veterans and specifically highlighting veterans freedom to smile.
But the point
just made about mental health and socialization. You know, I
(08:54):
hear it in the folks that I, that I speak with,
um sometimes the spouse calls for the the person and
then eventually I get to the, to the and they're
like new people once they can smile and go to
a family event.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Yeah, I it is, it's very important and, and it's
it's probably the number one like II, I personally believe
that lack of socialization hurts our seniors in general, veteran
or not. And it's that, that, that socialization is so
important as you, as you get older. Uh Tom, another
quick question for you in the State of New Hampshire.
(09:35):
Are you finding that, that just beyond veterans or veterans
in general or just beyond the programs? Just folks
looking for dental insurance in general? Um, there used to
always be this, you know, I remember, you know, getting
a job. It's like, well, do you want medical? Yeah,
I have to get medical insurance. Well, what about dental? Ah, nah,
never mind the dental or whatever. But I think now
(09:56):
people are, and it's to your point earlier that,
um, you know, there's a lot of studies out there
that show that good health and oral health and dental
health is good health and, and the, the, the sort
of synergy of those two things is becoming a lot
more prevalent in our society. You finding more people are
taking you up on dental insurance, are they realizing that
(10:18):
it's not as expensive as they thought? Are they realizing
that it covers more than they thought and that they're
more proactive about their dental health?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Absolutely. The growth in our individual product has been extraordinary.
So once, when the Affordable Care Act was passed, dental
became on what was known as the public exchanges. And
then we also created private exchanges. So, for the most part,
you know, up until
(10:48):
15 years ago, people, the only way they were really
getting their dental was through the employer. Now, if the
employer isn't offering it, they can get it individually. We've
seen that skyrocket. So that's a good sign. And we've
also seen that more and more employers are offering dental.
It's no longer viewed as a, to your point. Our
(11:09):
first jobs, we probably looked at it as a nice
to have. No, no, it's no longer a nice to have.
It's just as important.
Um you know, as the medical benefit. And we're definitely
seeing that because when, when an employer offers dental to
their employees, there's high participation in it. So it's taking
(11:32):
a long time for the public to and our political
leaders to understand it because in New Hampshire, we, many
of us for like close to 25 years
really did a lot of lobbying and educating at the
statehouse to add a dental benefit for people on Medicaid
and New Hampshire and Maine were two of the last
states that have added dental on the Medicaid front. And
(11:56):
part of that was just the constant education and for
the body politic in general understanding that you can't have
good overall health without good oral health.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Yeah. No, that's, it's so true. And that's funny. I didn't,
I didn't realize that they were the last couple of
states to, to come on, but they are fully on
board now with their Medicaid programs.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
That is correct. It's, uh, it's not without its challenges. Uh,
but definitely we've been working hard at it. Actually Delta
Dental in New Hampshire actually administers has been administering the program,
the Medicaid program since April 1 of 2023. Um, and
then on the veterans program,
(12:39):
we've been in, um, you know, we've been at it between,
you know, like about eight or nine years.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Wow, Tom Raphael is the president and CEO of Northeast
Delta Dental. You can find them at Ne delta.com if
you are a veteran and would like to participate in
the New Hampshire program or find out more information.
Why not call Tom Direct at 603223, 1300. And, uh,
(13:06):
and it really is a tremendous program and I can't
tell you how wonderful it is to see all you're
doing for the veterans of the state of New Hampshire.
Thank you so much, Tom.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Thank you. And I love talking to veterans. So I
do hope they call me if you happen to get
my voicemail though. Leave your phone number, please. Thank you.
Ok,
Speaker 1 (13:25):
thanks Tom. It was great chatting. Thank
Speaker 2 (13:27):
you. Take care.
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