DALLAS, May 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Despite a 2024 dip in U.S. dental plan enrollment, dental benefits companies increased payments per member to dental providers and continued to expand enrollees’ financial protection by raising annual maximum benefit levels, according to the “NADP 2025 State of the Market Report.”
“Our data shows a dental benefits industry that’s being proactive and responsive to affordability pressures while still investing in care,” said Mike Adelberg, NADP Executive Director. “That means more money being paid to support providers and stronger annual maximums to protect patients, even as voluntary, employee-paid plans grow, value matters more than ever.”
Annual maximum benefit levels continued a long-running climb, with more consumers selecting plans that offer higher maximums. The data also shows a relatively small share of members reaching their annual maximum, suggesting that higher limits are expanding financial protection for enrollees who need more extensive care.
After years of COVID-19-related disruption, 2023 marked a period of stabilization and recovery, including enrollment growth. In 2024, however, affordability pressures returned to the forefront as employers and consumers absorbed higher costs in other parts of their budgets. New NADP data shows how those pressures are showing up in spending, premiums and the types of dental plans people are selecting.
Total dental spending rose nearly 5% for both third-party payers and consumers, while dental benefits premiums increased by 0.1%, well below overall inflation. Even with stable premiums, employees covered a larger share of benefit costs as employers contended with higher medical insurance premiums and adjusted cost-sharing strategies.
Employer-sponsored plans provide dental benefits for more than half of covered individuals. One of the biggest shifts in 2024 was rapid growth in voluntary dental plans, mostly or entirely employee-paid, alongside declining enrollment in traditional employer-sponsored plans where employers pay most of the premium.
Enrollment through exchanges also continued to shift as consumers weighed affordability and coverage options, the report found. Enrollment in stand-alone dental plans on state-based exchanges now matches dental enrollment through HealthCare.gov. This is notable because the 21 state-based marketplaces together serve fewer total marketplace enrollees overall than the 29 states that rely on the federal platform—underscoring the need to let consumers purchase stand-alone dental coverage directly on HealthCare.gov.
About the report
The report is the NADP Executive Summary of industry research conducted in 2025, which includes industry data as of December 31, 2024, unless otherwise noted. The report includes additional findings on enrollment by market segment, spending trends, and benefit design changes.
About NADP
The National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) is the largest non-profit trade association focused exclusively on the dental benefits industry. NADP members provide dental HMO, dental PPO, dental indemnity, and dental savings plan products to more than 200 million Americans with dental benefits. NADP members include the entire spectrum of dental carriers: companies that provide both medical and dental coverage, companies that provide only dental coverage, major national, regional, and single state companies, as well as companies organized as non-profit plans.
Contact:
Michael Adelberg
NADP Executive Director
(972) 457-1554
madelberg@nadp.org
