Dental Insurance Versus Dental Discount Plans
Dental Insurance
- All dental insurance plans have a maximum allowed during the term year
- All dental plans break the services up into 3 categories
- Preventative-usually at no cost and includes 2 cleanings annually and 1 check-up by the Dentist and 1 set of X-rays
- Basic Services-most plans don’t have a waiting period but some do. Usually about 6 months. These services vary by the plan and usually pay 80% of the fees. The balance is owed by the patient
- Major Services-usually a one year wait for services. Reason is simple, many people buy the plan to get a crown and then un-enroll. Having a waiting period eliminates the problem
- All dental insurance plans use a network or have open access with customary and usual fees prevailing
- Plans have annual maximums in a range of $750-$2500. The higher the maximum the more benefit you get. Personally, I don’t recommend anything less than $1500 max.
- Some of the plans have graduating scales of percentage they pay and the max can increase over time. These plans usually cost a little more and not sure if the benefit meets the coats.
- Individual plans offered through The Barend Agency Inc. include Cigna, Anthem, UHC, Security Life-AMERITAS, Delta Dental and National General.
Dental Discount Plans
- This is not insurance.
- There are many different plans out there. The biggest benefit is there is no maximum. You simply pay the contracted rate the dentist has with the plan.
- I have 3 plans I offer but prefer the one on my website called Avia Dental. Go to insurance4unevada.com and look under dental discount plans for Avia Dental.
- The reason is the cost of services appears to be better than other plans I offer and have seen.
- The dentists that carry the discount plans probably aren’t your dentist. If using your dentist is a must, then buy the dental insurance.
- Cost is much less than dental insurance. We pay $128 for the year for both my wife and I. Compare that to about $35 per month per individual. The dental discount plans also cover vision and RX discounts.
Example: Needed about $6900 worth of work done, paid $2900. Similar experience for my wife. No maximums to worry about, no waiting periods to worry about, just discounts for all procedures. After the work was completed, I needed a cleaning. The cost was $35.