UFT Welfare Fund-eligible members now have access to more than three times as many dentists through the UFT Welfare Fund’s Scheduled Benefit Plan, which is its most popular dental plan.

“The UFT Welfare Fund has worked hard to improve dental benefits, knowing that it is a top priority of our membership,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “It was loud and clear that things had to be changed.”

Effective Dec. 1, the network grew to 2,079 dentists, up from 600. The number of specialists, including pediatric dentists and orthodontists, also tripled. In-network dentists are for the first time practicing in Atlantic, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer and Somerset counties in New Jersey, and Saratoga and Sullivan counties in New York.

In addition, for UFT members who use out-of-network dentists, reimbursement rates have increased for 23 procedures, including periodontal cleaning and root canals.

The expansion of the Scheduled Benefit Plan network and the higher reimbursement rates are an intermediate response to current needs, while the UFT Welfare Fund pursues more improvements to dental coverage through a request for proposals.

The request for proposals, initiated in 2023, solicits competing bids from dental insurers. “This is when we get our greatest leverage,” explained Mulgrew. “That competition will enable us to improve our dental benefits even more in the next year.”

Mulgrew said he expected an insurer to be selected in 2025 and a new dental-coverage contract to start in 2026. “In the meantime,” he said, “we wanted to increase the number of dentists we have access to in service.”

Any UFT member who currently uses Dentcare, the UFT Welfare Fund’s dental HMO, can switch to the Scheduled Benefit Plan during next year’s open enrollment, from Sept. 1 to Oct. 15, 2025, with changes taking effect on Nov. 1.

Members can search for dentists in the Scheduled Benefit Plan by last name, speciality or area and check reimbursement rates.