Texas Dental
Insurance
Options
Believe it when I say
"Dental Insurance" can be
complex. I see
several areas of
commonality with clients
when they look for dental
insurance. They are:
- Does my dentist
accept the plan?
- How expensive is
it?
Often enough, the
more expensive the
dental premium the more
likely that your dentist
is in the network.
Why is that and why do
you need to know the
reason?
Well...dental insurance
is a little different in
how it handles providers
in a dental field when
you look at health
insurance carriers and
how they handle medical
doctors. Dentist
have more pull in
general with insurance
companies because their
services are more
frequently used rather
than your "medical
doctor". Plus
there are not that many
dentists around which
means more demand for
higher pay rates for the
dental insurance
carrier. They
(established dentists)
are popular so people
just don't buy a policy
that isn't accepted by
their dentist.
Sound familiar?
This type of plan and
scenario is comparable
to Dental Select
Insurance Company and
the many plans it
offers. The dental
premium is more
expensive BECAUSE they
have a large and
expansive dental
network. They
control losses (in case
you are curious) by
implementing what I call
"stop losses". In
other words they pay up
to a predetermined
amount for a particular
dental service and
nothing more. The
balance usually gets
billed to you by your
dentist.
It all comes down to
this:
- What can you
afford that makes
sense for you and
your family? Can you
afford to keep your
current dentist and
pay premiums with
"Dental Select"? Or
can you take time to
visit and get to
know a new dentist
with "Total
Dental"? to
compare.
- If your family
age group is young
to middle age you
probably need a good
dental plan. If you
don't want to
purchase a good
dental plan find a
good loan officer.
- If your family
age group is older
than you may
consider funding
catastrophic dental
work through a
HSA account. and
get a tax
deduction. Wells
Fargo banking can
set you up for
reasonable rates
($3.75 per month).
- If you have a
limited "insurance
budget". Judge which
you use more and buy
the better between
the two. In other
words...you go to
dentist allot and
don't want to change
dentists? Than buy
"Dental Select" and
change your
health insurance
policy into a
catastrophic plan to
lower your overall
insurance
expenditures.
- Stay away from
"Discount Dental
Plans". They are a
gimmick.
|
