Quick Tips To Help You Choose The Right Dental Insurance
You’ll pay a lot less for your dental insurance premiums than you will for your health coverage premiums, but there’s always a catch. A lot of health plans cover a very large percentage of even the most daunting expenses after their deductibles have been paid. Dental plans, however, have yearly coverage limits that range from $1k to $1,500 per year, in addition to $50 or even $100 deductibles. Although these plans might pay as much as 80 or even 100 percent of cleanings, x-rays and exams, when patients need root canals, crowns or treatments for gum disease from in-network providers, these policies generally cover only half of the actual treatment cost. Moreover, certain procedures like cosmetic dentistry and orthodontia aren’t covered at all.
Not surprisingly, cost constraints can cause even those with active dental coverage to put important treatments off. According to one survey from Consumer Reports, some people delay essential procedures because they aren’t covered and some put treatment off simply because they’ve already used up their annual coverage limits.
To sidestep the risk of unexpected expenses, the following are several steps that you should take when shopping for and purchasing dental coverage.
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- See If Group Coverage Is Available
The vast majority of consumers with dental coverage have employer-offered benefits or benefits that come from AARP or other group coverage programs like the Affordable Care Act marketplace and public programs like Medicaid or TriCare for military.
Plans like these tend to be a lot less costly than buying individual coverage and they may even offer a higher level of coverage. But, you should spend some time carefully reviewing the details of even those plans that are sponsored by your employer in order to determine whether or not the premiums will prove worthwhile for someone like you.
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- Check Out Individual Policies
A lot of individual policies have comparatively limited benefits and significantly higher costs than group policies, and whether you’re purchasing one of these plans for your family or a plan for yourself, you should know that they often have waiting periods for major and expensive procedures. If you want to sign up for a plan “right in time” because you want to get a new set of dentures or need implants, keep in mind that this tactic is well-known among insurers and this is why they frequently have year-long waiting periods before certain benefits can be used.
It is always smart to shop comparatively. Get quotes and details about different policies from the websites of various insurers or get in touch with a reputable agent.
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- Review The List Of In-Network Dentists
With an Indemnity plan, you will have the ability to choose your own dentist, but common HMO and PPO plans will limit you to using in-network providers instead. If there’s a dentist that you like using already, find out which discount plans and standard dental plans this professional is able to accept. If using a new dentist is agreeable to you, an HMO or PPO might be the right choice.
However, you should always be leery of new dentists who say that you need a lot of unexpected work done. One very revealing story from a dentist’s son describes how dentists in-network may try to suggest unnecessary treatments to offset the income that they’re losing on preventative care, given that dental insurers reimburse for preventative services at a very low rate. Talk with neighbors, family members, friends and health professionals to see if you can get a recommendation for a good dentist in your area. Then find out which discount plans and standard dental plans the recommended provider is willing to accept.
- Understand What Different Policies Cover
If you want to effectively budget for your dental expenses, you will need to diligently review the different plans that you’re considering. For instance, from the very start of coverage, AARP Delta plans cover denture repairs, cleanings, root canals, restorations and various forms of oral surgery. But you will have to wait for your second year of coverage in order to get benefits for cast and crown restorations, gum disease treatments, implants or dentures. Moreover, the benefits at this time will cover just 50 percent of these treatments.
If either you or one of your children requires major dental work, you should know that you will probably have to pay a large portion of the related costs. With both individual and group plans, benefits can be limited and they can also vary quite a bit. Group plans can additionally have mandatory waiting periods and nearly all plans will only pay a small portion of the costs for any major treatments, so be sure to check the details. Your friends and coworkers might have coverage from the same company, but they could have entirely different benefits packages from the one that you’ve been offered.
The Bottom Line
The bright side of having dental coverage is the fact that this coverage is good for dental x-rays, cleanings and other forms of preventative care, although x-rays might be covered less often than your dentist wants to take these images. Children and adults that have dental coverage have a higher likelihood of receiving restorative and preventative dental care and of having good oral health overall, as per one report from the National Association of Dental Plans. Buying dental coverage could inspire you to receive more preventative care so that you can avoid the need for more costly and invasive forms of dental treatment.
When investing in individual dental coverage (as opposed to employer-sponsored group coverage or group coverage from another source) keep in mind that certain, major procedures probably won’t be covered during your first year of coverage and that the benefit after this time will likely be about half of what the dentist actually charges. This means that you will need to put some cash aside in a personal fund or a health savings account so that you have the money you need whenever major treatments are required. To get more information on this subject, check out Should You Bite On Dental Coverage and Do You Need Dental?