Dental Insurance
Does one need Dental Insurance This question is asked by us in parlance with any kind of insurance. Well, insurance is a tool that offsets financial losses due to accidents or incidents or unforeseen circumstances in our life.
With this in view, insurance is always advocated but if one is young and healthy and doesnt need to visit a dentist more than twice a year, Dental Insurance will not be a requirement, since the premium for such insurance may be more than the annual tooth maintenance bill.
People with a turbulent dental history are advised to purchase Dental Insurance or join a discounted dental plan for the simple reason that dental bills can turn out to be very steep.
Millions of Americans are undergoing root canal and cavity procedures despite the fluoride in drinking water. Dental health in the USA has not been of very high standard over the decades.
Dental health depends upon a variety of factors including dental hygiene, stress, personal eating habits, nutrition etc. The programs of dental coverage available are Indemnity Plans, Preferred Provider Plans, HMO Plans and Discount Plans
Dental Indemnity Insurance Plans
These are normal, traditional insurance coverage plans where you get a percentage of your dental bills covered for a monthly fee or premium. Normally a indemnity plan covers 100% of preventive services, 80% of restoration services and 50% of major treatment like orthodontics.
Dental Preferred Provider Plans
These plans cost an average of $40 per month and give you highly discounted rates of dental procedures within the specified network.
These plans are regulated by state insurance departments and fall in the insurance category.
HMO Dental Insurance
These insurance plans are also known as capitation plans. They operate like Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO). These are also regulated by state insurance department and cost between $20-$40 a month.
Dental Discount Plans
Discount dental plans are like clubs where you get the best deals when you show your membership card. These are again network based. They give best value to individual and family memberships. This membership is only purchasing a discounted access to a network dentist and is not considered insurance.
Popularity of Dental Insurance
The benefits of Dental Insurance coverage have been further stressed upon by the popular icons on the television, who always seem to have flashing white flawless teeth. These teeth are a result of care, expensive dental care and thus need for expensive group dental insurance plans provided by insurance companies that reducing in number by the day.
benefit programs. A few years back, Dental Insurance was a non-descript part of employee benefit programs and very simple to plan and execute. restoration and 50% coverage for major restorative services like crowns and bridges.
Despite advice many employees never visited their dentists resulting in the overall cost of insurance being low and stable compared to general health benefit plans which rose year after year. insurance companies.
box, the importance of whiter smiles and straighter teeth became apparent and people started taking more interest in dental care. This in turn saw a spurt in rise of dental insurance premiums almost at the rate of 7-10% a year. This rate is significant and big employers started looking at it with a bigger eye.
This tells on the bottom-line of the company since the employee benefit expenses are going up due to this rise.. So the rise in premium year after year, pushes the total employee benefit expenses 1% higher year after year.
"Employers aren't paying that much attention yet, but considering the way dental plans are evolving, they should," says Donald S. Mayes, dental plan auditor and consultant from Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Dental Plans And Dental Insurance
Dental coverage is normally not underwritten by insurance companies because the treatment and medication of dental needs are predictable and follow a time table. No individual would opt for a dental insurance plan if he were to pay more in premium than in annual dental charges, and the insurance company would lose money if they pay more in claims than the premium collected for each policy they underwrite.
Despite these drawbacks, some companies offer dental benefits by group discount schemes. These are also called discounted dental plans or affordable dental plans. These are a kind of clubs where membership costs a little money monthly or annually where the members can avail of dental services at a discounted rate. The dental service providers or dentists affiliated to these clubs have agreed to provide dental services at a discounted rate.
The payment is made directly by the patient to the dentist, no paperwork or claims or future hassles. These clubs only do matchmaking between the patient and the dentist, earning money in the process. The dentist in turns gains to earn due to larger volumes of work. The patient gets the service at a discounted rate. Its a WIN-WIN for all parties involved.
Dental Insurance when offered is again a complicated issue. The insurance company generally stresses upon background checks and pre-existing conditions. After this goes through you have to wait out until the coverage starts. When the treatment is actually undergone, a lot of paperwork regarding claims, %age exclusions etc. come to the fore where it becomes more of a pain to actually undergo and finish the process of reimbursement.
However insurance has its own benefits and plans have their own. A lot of employers also provide dental insurance whereupon the need for plans ceases for the individual. Its for the individual to decide between the two as per their requirement, needs and current situation.
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