San Mateo, CA (PRWEB via HRMarketer) September 27, 2006 -- SureCircle announces the release of SureCircle Dental Self-Fund Online Manager v.3.0. This new service combines traditional employer self-funded dental plan administration services with previously unavailable advanced online benefit management tools.

Although self-funding of dental plans is common, most third party administrators (TPA) of these self-insured plans utilize largely manual processes to accept, adjudicate, and pay claims. SureCircle Dental Self-Fund Online Manager v.3.0 is an online application that supports an automated process, including electronic claim submission, auto-adjudication with fraud and error detection technology, and electronic funds transfer.

In addition, Dental Self-Fund v.3.0 features a secure online benefit management portal for employers, members and providers. The employer portal allows benefit managers to get a customized dental plan cost estimate, electronically enroll members or invite them to self-enroll, view real-time claims status, fund the employer account as needed, and generate plan reports instantly.

Online benefit management options available to members include self-enrollment and dependent management, utilization history monitoring with available benefit balance calculation and real-time claim viewing. In addition, providers can verify patient eligibility, view plan details, submit claims electronically, check claims status in real-time, and receive payments through electronic funds transfer.

"It’s a very exciting service for employers who are interested in providing a higher quality dental benefit, while actually reducing their costs and administrative tasks," explained Joseph Shatara, Chief Operating Officer of SureCircle.

The SureCircle Dental Self-Fund Online Manager is based on the ADA’s Direct Reimbursement model and follows a dollar-based system. One main difference is that rather than have patients pay upfront for dental services and get reimbursed by employers, SureCircle gives providers the ability to file the claim on behalf of patients as they would with a traditional insurance carrier. This Direct Assignment approach is an added convenience for members.