We have discussed the subject of dental insurance coverage within Obamacare quite a bit in previous posts. To summarize, dental benefits must be made available for purchase to cover children. So, dental coverage is not mandatory per Obamacare. This dental insurance coverage may be included within a medical plan or through a separate stand-alone dental insurance product. For the year 2015, there have been some changes to enhance options and access for dental services.
We now present some bullet-points to describe some changes and facts on Obamacare related to dental insurance coverage:
- The ADA Health Policy Institute has found that across 40 states, the percentage of medical insurance plans that included dental benefits increased from 26.8% in 2014 to 35.7% in 2015.
- The Health Affairs blog reports that there are 2.5 times more Americans with medical coverage than those with dental insurance.
- The Health Affairs blog reports that over one million Americans have purchased dental insurance through the federally facilitated marketplaces as a stand-alone product without obtaining subsidies.
- The American Dental Association reports that emergency room visits for “avoidable” dental visits cost the United States Health Care System as much as $2 billion annually.
- The Health Affairs blog reports that only 15 states have adult dental insurance coverage within Medicaid. Unfortunately, Texas is NOT one of them.
As more information becomes available, we will do our best to post it here. We intend to be the best single source of dental related information within Obamacare. If you appreciate our dedication to you on this subject, you may also enjoy the dedication we have to our wonderful patients. We invite you to become one of them; feel free to call us at (972) 250-2580, or in any other way you see available within this web page.
