| Understanding Your Dental Insurance Plan |
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| Written by Franklin Jeter |
| Friday, 01 October 2010 20:21 |
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Dental insurance has been around for about thirty years. The original insurance plans were known as Indemnity plans. These plans were also called 80/20 plans. The insurance paid 80% of the bill no matter what it was for, and the patient paid 20%. Premiums were pretty high but there were many benefits. You could go to any dentist that took the insurance and you didn't need referrals or permission from the insurance company to change dentists.
Dental insurance has been around for about thirty years. The original insurance plans were known as Indemnity plans. These plans were also called 80/20 plans. The insurance paid 80% of the bill no matter what it was for, and the patient paid 20%. Premiums were pretty high but there were many benefits. You could go to any dentist that took the insurance and you didn't need referrals or permission from the insurance company to change dentists. Once dental insurance became popular, it underwent many changes over the next few years. The original plans were known as 80/20 plans or Indemnity plans. The were almost identical to their equivalent in the health insurance sector. The insurance company would typically pay 80% of the covered charges and the patient would pay 20%. Co-pays, deductibles and life time maximums came into play as well. Soon the dental insurance plans changed from these 80/20 plans to HMOs and PPOs, just like health insurance. The HMOs meant that patients needed to stay in network and get referrals for any type of work that required specialized care - root canals, caps, etc. PPOs were more expensive but they let you go to any dentist you chose, for any reason, at any time, as long as they accepted that insurance. Coverages remained similar for both types of insurance as did the co-pays and deductibles. For instance, routine xrays in an HMO and a PPO were usually handled the same way. Many people don't even realize they are using an HMO plan until they try to change dentists or have a problem and learn they need to go to a specialist. Typically, the HMOs are less expensive for the plan itself. Since any type of insurance can be expensive, many people do choose the HMO when given the choice. Almost all employers who elect to provide this coverage to their employees will choose a group HMO plan. Along with dental insurance, there are other options that are almost identical, and in some cases are even better. These are "discount" plans. Run almost like an insurance program, the patient buys a plan that suits his needs, and they vary widely. There are family plans and individual plans, and plans that cover all sorts of cosmetic dental procedures like whitening and implants. When you are covered with one of these discount plans, there is a set fee that your dentist has agreed to, along with a standard co-pay of about $10 or so. A major difference between insurance and a discount plan is that the dentist only receives payments from the patient. In other words, when you buy a discount plan you have a schedule of services that are covered, and amounts you will need to pay. This might sound like insurance, but these amounts are all the dentist receives. The company does not pay him anything. Many people buy one of these discount plans to use in addition to their regular insurance sometimes just to get their teeth whitened or to get veneers that are covered. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Visit my blog to get more info about cheap dental insurance, aetna dental insurance and much more. |