Individual dental insurance
Individual dental insurance plans are an affordable way to deal with the alarmingly high costs of dental care. There are a number of different dental plans to choose from and the benefits vary from plan to plan. Therefore it is important to find a plan that is suited to your own individual circumstances. Your initial considerations should include, how much coverage you require, what level of dental care you actually need and how often you envisage you will visit the dentist for your regular check up and potential emergencies.
Indemnity Insurance Plan – This is an extremely flexible form of dental insurance. Should you have any specific preferences, this may be the best plan for you. You are actually allowed to choose your own dentist with this plan, which at least allows for a continuity of service and care. Once you have specified which dentist you wish to use, the indemnity plan will ensure that the dentist’s office is paid whenever you receive treatment. Typically you can expect the plan to cover anywhere from 50% up to 80% of your bill, whilst you will have to pay the remainder of the balance yourself. On average you can expect to pay in the region of $25 a month, and this type of plan should be available from your state insurance department.
Direct Reimbursement Plans – Direct reimbursement is proving extremely popular nowadays and is a form of coverage used by many employers for their employees. You no longer have to rely on an insurance company to provide coverage should you not wish to, and you can actually fund this yourself with the help of your employer. You will initially pay for your dental expenses and your employer will then reimburse you at a later date. This arrangement does not apply any restrictions on your choice of dentist, unlike many of the other plans, and thus allows you to use your own dentist. However, you should be aware that there may be limitations as to how much an employer will actually pay in these circumstances.
HMO Network Dental Insurance – HMO or Health Maintenance Organization is a name you will often see banded around with health insurance products. In the case of dental insurance, this relates to a network of individuals who specifically belong to a comprehensive dental care plan. The network will then partner with a designated dental clinic or dentist to provide its members which much needed dental care. The cost of this insurance is largely dependent on the number of in individuals or patients that the network can assign to a specific dentist. The more patients in the network, the lower you can expect the fees/premiums to be. If you are looking to use HMO Network Dental Insurance, you should be aware that this carries a registration fee and monthly premiums.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Dental Insurance – A PPO dental insurance plan allows a group of individuals to specify a list of dentists from whom they would prefer to have treatment. The list of dentists included in the plan will then provide lower fees for their patients as long as they are members of a PPO dental plan. Due to the discounts available, this can be considered one of the least expensive forms of dental insurance available.
Discount Dental Plan – Your final option is a Discount Dental Plan which should only be considered if you are on a tight budget. The minimum paid by the providers for any claim you make will be 70% of the total bill, and much higher in some cases. However, it is important that you are aware that this form of insurance is far less detailed than a standard plan and may not offer as many of the benefits. Although it must also be stressed, that a discount plan is very easy to use.
The rising cost of dental care has made the need for Individual Dental Insurance a necessity in this day and age. When you think about the financial demands placed on you and your family for any form of health or dental care, it only seems natural to protect your income as well as the ones you love.
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