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Dental Coverage Dental Insurance is really quite different than Health Insurance in that the coverage benefits are typically much less than people have come to expect from their health insurance plan. Most dental care coverage available today offers limited financial coverage. The reason is rate of dental care per capita is much higher than the rate of medical care. Therefore, the cost of the Premium can be as much or more than the benefit you receive. Dental care coverage is particularly prone to Adverse Selection. Meaning, people with good teeth tend not to purchase it and those who have know problems seek it. Nonetheless, dental care coverage is considered to be a very valued benefit for employee groups. Dental health often influences the overall health of the workers, and can be seen as an incentive to attract good employees. However, it often is not part of an Individual or Family health plan. Most dental insurance is provided in a Managed care type of insurance, similar to PPO and HMO type health care plans. Dentists contract with a provider organization and agree to provide their services at the rates established according to their contract with the provider organization. Like medical care plans there are many variations among the plans, but most encourage preventive care and treatment for minor dental problems and tooth decay. Other procedures, such as treatment for missing teeth, sealants, and dental implants, root canal may only be partially covered. Generally speaking, dental coverage is not as comprehensive as most people expect. Dental Health Maintenance Organizations With a Dental Health maintenance organization (DHMO) you do not pay any fees for certain categories or types of dental work (usually preventive related only). The contracted dentists are paid on a Capitation basis, whether dental work performed or not. These are typically the lowest cost dental plans. The population of HMO providers is typically quite limited so if you have a favorite dentist you should be sure to call the dental office to determine whether they accept the plan and how they feel about participating in the plan. Dental Preferred provider organization (DPPO) Direct Reimbursement Dental Plans (Indemnity) According to the American Dental Association, the best type of dental insurance plan is called Fee-for-service or Direct Reimbursement (DR). Under this type of dental plan you are free to pick any dentist and are not limited by the type of treatment the above managed-care dental plans allows. As you might expect, this type of insurance is the most expensive. Discount Plans A number of dental discount plans
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Dental / Vision