We realize there is still much information that is not yet defined under Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We do have patients asking us questions about it. We understand that for many it is a requirement to obtain an ACA plan. We also understand that many individuals are not familiar with choosing a dental plan at all. That is the purpose of this post; we want to offer some information on selecting an ACA dental insurance plan.
We have heard our president in the past indicate that you can “keep your doctor”. Perhaps we can extrapolate this to being able to keep your dentist. So one thing you will want to find out is if you can indeed keep your dentist. Patients should have the freedom to see the dentist of their choice; you will want to find this out.
Secondly, you will want to find out how much this will cost and what procedures are covered. It seems that initially people were signing up for their plans without knowing the particulars about cost or what was covered. You will want to know about the coverage for “preventive services”, which are normally covered at 100% of the fee the insurance carrier is willing to accept. You will also want to know about the coverage for fillings, extractions, root canals, and other “basic procedures”, which are normally covered at 80% of the fee the insurance carrier is willing to accept. Moreover you will want to know about the coverage for crowns, bridges, dental implants, and other “major services”, which are normally covered at 50% of the fee the insurance carrier is willing to accept. Feel free to follow this link for more from the American Dental Association on this subject.
Thirdly, you will want to find the deductible amount for the dental insurance coverage. Does the deductible apply to preventive services; historically the deductible does not apply to preventive services. You will also want to find out if the deductible for dental services is the same deductible and is included in the deductible for medical services. This is not at all common in the private market; however, we have read that within Obamacare many states are doing this. You will want to know this for sure as medical deductibles are normally $500 or much higher, whereas dental deductibles can alone be as low as $50.
Change has occurred in dental insurance ever since the mid 1980’s when I started my dental practice. However, without a doubt the largest change in the shortest period of time is now. We still do not have details available as many insurance companies may not have answers for you nor for us. We must be patient; it seems that the relatively slow roll-out of information is a characteristic of ACA. Hopefully the actual implementation of the ACA will be better than the transparency of information released to us and to the insurers.
If you have any questions over dental insurance we invite you to contact us at (972) 250-2580, or in any way you see available on this web page. We invite you as well to make an appointment to join our practice; we do accept new patients.
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