There are fresh reminders that group dental benefits coverage is taking a back seat to medical insurance, with employer-subsidized coverage increasingly facing the chopping block in a difficult economy and lawmakers preoccupied with addressing the divisive health care reform issue.

About 48% of working Americans have access to employer-provided dental plans, which they tend to get through work, versus 74% on the group medical side, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the BLS also found a 79% take-up rate among workers who signed up for dental coverage compared with 76% for medical coverage. Moreover, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that dental care accounts for just 7.4% of total health care spending.

“Many employers dropped their dental plan or turned it into a voluntary plan,” David Baker, general manager of the Texas Dental Association, recently told the Abilene Reporter News. In his view, the soaring cost of medical coverage has affected employer decisions about whether to pay for dental plans.